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A Baiier of the Puszta 



HUNGARY IN 1851; 




AN EXPERIENCE OF THE AUSTRIAN" POLICE. 



y 



CHAELES LORING BKACE. 




NEW YORK: 

CHARLES SCRIBXER, 1 15 XASSAU STREET. 

1852. 



Entered according to Act of Congi'ess, in tlie year 1852, by 
CHARLES SCEIBNEE, 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District 
of New Yorlj. 



O. W. BENEDICT, 

Steeeottper and Printek, 

201 William Street 



A--^ 



/S-i' 



9 



THOUGH WITHOUT PEKMISSION, 

I TAKE THE LIBERTY RESPECTFULLY TO DEDICATE THIS BOOK, 

TO THE 

Inu. Ckrbs % Blttoliti, 

Charge d'affaires for the United States to Vienna, 

TO WHOSE MOST MANLY AND PATRIOTIC BEARING, 

WORTHY OF A REPRESENTATIVE OF OUR COUNTRY, 

I OWE MY ESCAPE FROM AN 

AUSTRIAN DUNGEON. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

THE BAUEE OF THE PUSZTA (PEAIRIE), Frontispiece. 

BUDA-PESTH (from Paget) 28 

VILLAGE AST) PEASANTS TO 

FAEM-TEAM OF THE PUSZTA 92 

CSIKOS, OE CATTLE-DEIVEE OF THE PUSZTA 190 

A OITT AND COSTUME OF GENTEY. 278 



PREFACE. 



Facts seem the thing most needed now in regard to 
Hungary. In my jom'ney through the country, I had 
unusual advantages for observing thoroughly the condi- 
tion and feelings of the masses of the Hungarian people ; 
and, as no English or American traveller has mingled 
much in their social life since Paget in 1835, it 
is hoped the experiences here given will be of the more 
value. The effect of my observations upon myself, has 
been to call forth from my heart of hearts, a sympathy for 
this heroic and unfortunate People. I find all, which as 
a Kepublican, I had longed to see in Europe — a nation 
educated practically for freedom, passionately loving it, 
ready to peril all to gain it — a nation, too, of singularly 
generous and manly character. 

Still I do not forget, that on this Hungarian question, 
as on every other, good and true men may differ in 
opinion. And I have thought I could not better help on 
the cause of Truth and Justice, than by simply presenting 



viii PREFACE. 

facts^ whether they told against one side or the other. I 
think the book will not be found to have &. partisan air. 

Of course, after a man has been imprisoned for thirty 
days in a filthy dungeon, on a frivolous pretext, and has 
been badgered and worried for three weeks after, as if he 
were an escaped highwayman, it is not to be expected he 
should look at that subject, at least, as a purely abstract 
and philosophical question. Yet, neither here nor else- 
where, do I think I have misstated facts. 

In reference to names of persons, and of smaller villages 
and estates within the country, I have been obliged to be 
very careful, for fear of evil consequences to my friends 
and acquaintances, from our intercourse. 

Just before putting the work to press, I have to ac- 
knowledge the receipt, from friends in Yienna, of some 
valuable tables of the latest statistics of Hungary. They 
will be found in the Appendix. 

This book makes no claim to any very elaborate, or 
historical character. The author will be abundantly 
satisfied, if this passing picture of Hungary Enslaved 
form the material for the historian, who shall write some 
day of HuNGAKY Delivered. 

CHARLES LORING BRACE. 

South Side, Staten Island, N. Y., 
March, 1852. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

CHAPTER I. — Vienna — Its lively Appearance — Eeforms in Eduofltion — Conversation 
with Chief of Police — His Dilemma 11 

CHAPTER II.— Journey on the Danube — Anticipations— The "Austrian Lloyd" — 
Steamboats — ^English Engineers — Scenery — Lobau — Gate to Hungary — ^Presburg — 
Mm-boats 17 

CHAPTER III.— Gonyo—Komorn— Sacked Villages— Fortifications of Komorn- Its 
weak Points — Gran — ^Visegrad — ^The Blocksberg— First Impressions of Pesth 24 

CHAPTER IV. — Pesth — Beggars — ^Marks of Bombardment — ^Lifeless Appearance-— 
Diminution of Population — Siege of Ofen — ^Fault in Strategy — Different Accounts — 
The Eeaiilt — ^The Night-scene in the Bombardment — Present Aspect 29 



CHAPTER v.— Society in Pesth— Talkativeness— "Wit— Natural Eloquence— Chat 
with a "Workman — "With a " Conservative'' — ^Their feeling for their Country — A 
Saddler — A Clerk — Jokes — ^Hit at Paper Money — ^At the Finance Minister — Espi- 
onage — Oppression 34 

CHAPTER VI.— Comforts of Pesth— Tiger Hotel— Austrian Military "Works— The 
Neugebaude — The Town Hall — Injuries in the Houses — ^Madame Maderspach — 
" Running the Gauntlet" — Suicide of her Husband 



X CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHATTER VII.— Kossuth— Opinions of him— Of his Faults— Conservatives' vie-w of 
his Character — His Influence — ^Eloquence — Instance of the People's Affection for 
him in Himgary — Another in "Vienna — ^Description of his Oratory — Grand Effort in 
Parliament — His Mistakes — His present Course 46 

CHAPTER VIII.— Gorgey— Contrast to Kossuth— His striking Character— Reply to 
Kossuth's Offer — His coldness of Manner — Anecdote of Lady — ^Pride — His last mili- 
tary Operations — Retreat — Treachery— Scene near Debrec?in — His Speech — Motives 
of his Conduct— His Eeward^Anecdote of two Honveds— Hatred toward him 56 

CHAPTER IX. — Rail-road to Szolnok — Roads of Hungary — Projected Rail-roads — 
Austrian "Improvements" — Effects from bad Roads — Causes — Scenery on this 
Road — First sight of a Village — Houses — Fences — Peasants — Their Costume — Szol- 
nok in the War 65 

CHAPTER X.— The Theiss— Its Importance— The Channel— Canals— Scenery— Talk 
•with a Farmer — The Robot — ^Love for Kossuth — Feelings towai-ds Austria — Farm- 
machines — Hungarian " Swells" — Landing — Welcome 74 

CHAPTER XI.— A Village— " Tracks"— Dogs— Character of People— Hospitality- 
Fine Appearance — The Women — Incident — ^Ujhazy — The Exiles — Affection for 
them ....83 

CHAPTER XII.— The Puszta— Permits for Shooting— A Ride— The Wagon and 
Horses — Indian Corn — " Johnny-Cakes " — Lucerne — Chamomile — Rape-seed — 
Melons — Prairie — White Cattle — Buffaloes — The Csikos — Kossuth's Influence on 
them — Hungarian Horses — Hogs — Arrival — Supper — Smoking 89 

CHAPTER XIIL— A Hungarian Horse— Doflciencies— The Farm— Dung Fuel— Un- 
der-ground Granaries — Knowledge of America — "Kossuth-notes" — The Crops — 
Fruits — Similarity to American Productions — The Vine — The Tokay — Its Prepara- 
tion — The Wine Trade — Resemblance to America in Climate — Causes 100 

CHAPTER XIV.— A Peasant— Characteristic Remark— His Cottage— The Rooms- 
Furniture — Wardrobe — Sheep-skin Robes — His Wages and general Condition — 
Effect of Manumission Ill 



CONTENTS. xi 

PAQB 

CHAPTER XT.— A Gentleman— His Comforts— A Dinner— The Courses—" Yankee 
Fritters"— Popped Corns— Table Talk— The Battles— Eide again— Sleep— Mus- 
quitoes— A Preventive — The Musquitoerroot 117 

CHAPTEE XVI.— An Aristocrat— Conversation— Freedom from feudal Burdens- 
Leasing — Opinion of Kossuth— Discontent — My Journey — Generous Hospitality — 
Primitive Village— The Clergyman— Condition of Peasants— Their Elections- 
Effects of agricultural life on Health, Manliness, &c. — Hungarian Diet — Temperance 
—The Meals — Drinks — Smoking — A Drive — Visits — Talk with Farmers — Supper 
With Peasants — Speeches — Toasts 123 

CHAPTEE XVII.— The hopes for Freedom— The Jazyges and Cnmanians— Their 
Origin — History — Number — Eeligion — Political Position — Democracy — Government 
— Elections for Oiflcers — All Equal — Privileges — Burdens 136 

CHAPTEE XVIII.— Haiduck-tribe— Clergyman— Vine Garden— Conversation— Ac- 
counts of Kossuth — Superstitions about him — A Martial Population — Kindness of 
an old Woman — Eussians — Feelings towards them — Incident — Talk between a Eus- 
sian Officer and the Clergyman — Haynau — His Farm .141 

CHAPTEE XIX. — Haiducks — Church Service — Eeligious Character of the Nation — 
" The Magyar God" — Incident near Debreczin — ^Bibles — English Mission — Jews- 
Origin of Haiducks — Their Political Eights — Government — Eight of "Veto" — 
Effects— Their Soldiers— The Number 147 

CHAPTEE XX.— The Peasants— Eelation of Hungary to Austria— Feudalism— Serf- 
dom — ^Number of Peasants — Size of Farms — Feudal Eents — Burdens — Taxes — 
Tithes — Effects on the Peasants — Their Privileges — Eights — Wallach-Bauer 156 

CHAPTEE XXI.— The Peasants— Of the Magyars— Serfdom in Siebenburgen— 
Effects there of Manumission — Value of Feudal Labor in Hungary — Efforts of 
"Emancipation Party"— Obstacles — Bill passed in Session of 1882 — Privileges of the 
Peasant— Act of Parliament in 1848 164 

CHAPTEE XXII.— An Attention-A Village Belle— Appearance of Ladies— Wal- 
lach Villages — Physique of Wallachs—Costame— Origin — EeUgion— Superstition- 
Number — Wallachs of Transylvania — Contests with Himgarians — Act of Parlia- 
ment in July — Speech of Szemere — "Nationality Question" — Language — Their 
present feeling towards Austria- German Villages— Number — Colonizing 174 



xii CONTENTS. 

PASB 

CHAPTER XXIII.— Eide on the Puszta— Grandeur of Scenery— Monotony— Influ- 
ence on National Character — Exaggerated Feeling — Monotheism — Nomad Ten- 
dencies — Cattle Drivers — Eobbers — Their Daring — Cattle — Hogs— Sheep — Export 
of "Wool — Mirage 185 

CHAPTER XXIV. — Debeeozin — Wide Streets — Classic Vases — Crypt Architecture 
— Prosperity of People — Agrarianism — Socialism — Manners — G-reetings — Courtesy 
— Outre Habits— Dresses — Bracelets — Intensity of Feeling — Insanity — Scene at a 
Dinner Party 194 

CHAPTER XXV. — Peotestant Chuech — Interview with Clergyman — History — 
Treaty of 1606 — Treaty of Linz — Persecutions in 1670 — Generosity of Catholics — 
Attack of Haynau — Constitution of Church — Superintendents — Lay Members 203 

CHAPTER XXVI.— Edict of Haynau— Objects of it— Dangers to the Church- 
Appeal to Christians in America 211 

CHAPTER XXVII. — ^Debeeozin and Neighboehood — Weak Austrian Garrison — 
Reason — Visit to a " Conservative" — To a Landlord — His Feudal Rents- Eide to a 
Village — ^Mud — The Judge — A Peasant's House-keeping — Clothing — Talk about 
Kossuth and Austria — Ideas of America — Legends about Kossuth — ^Anecdote of the 
Tobacco Law 218 

CHAPTER XXVIII.— Nobles op Hcngaet— Noble Stone Cutters— Freemen— 
Their Rights and Privileges— Injustice— Effects— On Roads— On Business, Ac- 
Counterbalancing Advantages — Number — " Free Communities" — Corporations- 
Burdens on Freemen— My experience of the Effects— Feelings of the People 
towards them — Kossuth's Party 228 

CHAPTER XXIX.— Debreczin University— Students— " Soldier Professors"— Build- 
ings— Hall of Independence — Unexpected "Welcome^Concert — National Songs — 
Feehng— The Airs— Unmeaning Words— Analysis of Hats— Clergy— Harshness to 
them— Contrivances— A Walk in the City—" Crown Keeper"— An English Note- 
Interview with a Lady — Magyar Language — Protestant Bishop 286 

CHAPTER XXX.— Citizens in Hung aey— Talk wth a Merchant— Number of Cities 
—Of Market Towns— Rights of a Citizen— Common Council—" Rotten Boroughs"— 
Influence of Crown— Burdens of a City— Reform in 1843 246 



CONTENTS. xiii 

PAGE 

CHAPTER XXXI.— HuNGAKiAN Selt-Qovbenment—" State Eights"— Local Got- 
ernments — Eights of each State (Oomitat) — Power of Veto — Governor — States 
Legislature — Its Powers — Its Independence — ^Extra Legislation — State's Election — 
District Government — Parish Government— Village Officers — Salaries — Effects of 
the System — Evils — Keforms 251 

CHAPTER XSXIL— A Gentleman's Estate— Ride— Introduction— The Family— 
A sad Story — Their passionate Conversation — The Dinner — The Park — Gardening 
— Crops — Supper — Tone of Voice — Singing — Reflections — Dramatic Air — Adieux. . . .261 

CHAPTER XXXIIL— Geos Waedein— Gipsies— Mr. Borrow— Hail Storm— Suffer- 
ings of the Catholic Clergy— Their noble Conduct — Revenues of Clergy — The City 
— Manxifacturing — ^Visits — Conversation — Gloominess— Call upon General G. — A 
Dinner — An important Event — Unpleasant Interview 269 

CHAPTER XXXIV.— The Aeeest— Dinner— Interruption-Ride with Gens d'Arme 
—Search of Baggage— The Castle— The Cell— Keyhole Talk— "Night Thoughts" 
— Trial — Examination — Badgering — Dangerous Aspects — Cross Questions — Conspi- 
racy — Proofs — Defence 276 

CHAPTER XXXV.— The PKisoif— The Night— Reflections— Talk with Prisoners- 
Appearance of Cell — Chances for Escape — A French Major — ^Diet — Wine — Efforts 
for Escape — ^Letters-r-Kindness of feUow Prisoner — ^A generous Catholic Priest — 
Second Examination — Another Dialogue — Prison Life — My fellow Prisoners — The 
Young Countess— Hor Trial 290 

CHAPTER XXXVL— Prison Life— Plain Words to the Judge-J'ournal- My Wal- 
lach Comrade — Austrian Policy — Window Views — Lecture on Democracy — The 
old Hussar — Arrival — "Running the Gauntlet" — Peasants — Prison Rooms — The 
Castle — The imprisoned Clergyman — Tricks — Inquisition — Accusation — ^Defence — 
Czetz 304 

CHAPTER XXXVII.— Pkison Life— New Comrade— Cigars— The Croat Lawyer- 
Last Trial — " Confession of Faith" — Letter from Mr. M'Curdy — Post Office Manage- 
ment — Birth-day — Dinner — Quarrels — A droll Priest — Release — Good-byes 320 

CHAPTER XXXVIII.— Fkeedom— First Emotions— My Escort— Conversation— His 
weak Point — ^Night Ride — Bearing of the PeassMts— Lucky Henecmtre — Locomotive 
-r-The Spy — English Welcome — Hotel in Pesth — Diplomatic Hospitality — Causes of 
Arrest— Visit to the Missionary— A Dinner— Spies again — Journey to Vienna. 886 



xiv CONTENTS. 

FAQB 

CHAPTER XXSIS.— ViENiTESE Police— Mr. M'Curdy— His manly Proceedings- 
Interview witli Police Director — Sentence — My Acquaintances — Talk with a 
" Liberal" — American " Democracy" — ^Last meeting with the Director — His Polite- 
ness — Attentions in Linz — Diplomatic Lying — Farewell ta Austria ! 857 

CHAPTER XL. — The Administration since the Revolution— Difficulties — How 
met — Scoui'gings — Executions — Falseness — Attacks on old Institutions — On the 
Church — Police Regulations — Taxes — Old Taxation — Kossuth Notes — Tobacco Law 
-Effects 858 

CHAPTER XLI. — Austeian Adiiinistkation — Tax on Wine — Improvements of 
Roads — Oppression of Croats — Census Returns — ^Number of Magyars — Cause — 111- 
Treatment of Peasants — Neglect of Magnates — Exactions upon the Jews — Colonizing 
— ^Motives — Effects of the Administration 871 

CHAPTER XLII. — ^KossuTn's Administeation— Kossuth, Minister of Einance— 
Difficulties — In Taxation — In levying Forces — Measures — National Bank — Issue of 
Paper Money— His plan for Militia — The Articles — Establishment of Manufactories 
— ^Kossuth " Prime Minister" — " Committee of Defence" — ^Kossuth " Governor" — 
Declaration of Independence — His Difficulties with the Generals — Defeat of Temes- 
var — ^Effects — Facts of the Resignation — Address — His Title of " Governor" — Late 
Attacks upon him — His Explanation — Condition of the Armies — His Motives — The 
Administration 382 

CHAPTER XLIII. — ^Dblivbeance or HnNGAET— Union of the People— Number of 
able-bodied Men — Reason — Soldiers in Austrian Armies— Spirit of the Nation — The 
Future— Difficulties— Want of Arms— Russians — Hopes for Hungary. 400 



-\'' 



BRACE'S HUNGARY IN 1851. 



CHAPTEE I. 



In tlie course of a long tour in Eui'ope, made partly on foot, 
in order, better to observe the condition and character of the lower 
classes, I reached Vienna, early in the Spring of 1851. 

If any one had told me, a few years ago that I should ever enter 
that city, with such pleasure, I could not for a moment have 
believed him. 

To foreigners, Vienna has so long been described as the very 
centre and stronghold of oppression, and of that modern " Inqui- 
sition," the Police-system, that one hardly expects the very air 
to be free. Yet it must be allowed to an American, and one 
coming as I did, from North Germany, Vienna does appear 
exceedingly pleasant. It is such a satisfaction to get once more 
into streets, whirling with life, to see people excited, and in a 
hurry. The contrast of the busy, merry-looking city, to the 
antique Prague, or the quiet, intellectual Berlin, is most striking. 

The common people too, though the mass, are evidently very 
ignorant, on the whole seem happy and busy. One escapes 
beside, that unvarying, wearisome sight of Berlin — the soldiery ; 
and it is a real pleasure, at length, to be in crowds, where eveiy 



12 APPEARANCE OF VIENNA. 

third man does not wear a bayonet. The public Police are much 
less numerous than in Prussia, and bad as their profession may be, 
they are e\ddently accomplished members of it, and are not 
betrayed by the stupid, spying look, which marks the Schutz- 
mdnner of Berlin. They are very polite too, which can never 
be said of the Prussian, and what oppression is going on, is 
evidently being conducted in a very gentlemanly manner. The 
whole city has a pleasant, friendly physiognomy to the stranger. 

However it is not my pui-pose in this volume, to give any 
detailed account of my observations of Vienna, I came there with 
different objects from those of most travellei-s, and my researches 
threw me among classes, quite apart from those usually seen by 
the stranger. I was siu'e that much good must be working even in 
Austria, in such an age as this, and I devoted myself while there, 
pi-incipally to the investigation of those great reforms in education, 
which I had heard in Prussia, were already beginning under the 
administration of Count Thun, In these investigations, I am 
lx)und to say, I was much aided by the polite and friendly atten- 
tions of many of the principal gentlemen engaged in education, in 
the city, and of some, connected with the ministry itself. Indeed 
every stranger must acknowledge that there is scarcely a population 
of Europe, among whom he will meet Avith such a kindly polite- 
ness, as among the cultivated classes of Austria. 

Though somewhat apart from my object, I will give here a 
brief sketch of these reforms, as showing the good side of Austria, 
and as presenting movements, of which very little has ever been 
known in foreign countries. 

The first great change seems to be, in introducing the Voluntary 
System into the Universities — or, in other words the University 
course is made entirely free to all who enter, and every student can 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 13 

choose his own branches for study. Then no examinations are 
required between the different sessions, so that there may be no 
mere cramming ; but a grand public examination is held at the 
end of the fom* years' course, in which not so much memorising is 
demanded as a general, intelhgent idea of the subjects studied. On 
this examination depends the certificate which shall render the 
student capable of entering any office of the State, or of com- 
mencing the practice of any profession. In order to fit the young 
men for such a freedom of study, the course of the preparatory 
schools is lengthened from six to eight years, and more of the 
higher class of studies are introduced, such as mental philosophy, 
logic, and moral science. No student is allowed to enter the 
University younger than eighteen. The whole ai'rangement of the 
under-schools, called " Gymnasia''' and " Real Schools,''^ is changed- 
It has long been felt as an evil, that any yotmg man who would 
give himself a good general education must go through the long- 
University course, and so delay his entrance into business. Now 
by means of the JReal Schools he can get the foundation of a good 
education quite thoroughly, without entering the University. The 
Gymnasia, as well as the Heal School, are divided into " Upper" 
and " Under," and the admission from one part to the other, as 
well as the entrance from the lower " People's Schools" to these, 
depends upon the mode in which the examination is passed. So 
that from the lowest " District School," through the Gymnasia and 
the University, there is a regular series of examinations, till the 
young man is settled as a government officer, or a " professional 
man." New books and efficient teachers from Germany are every- 
where introduced, and the miserable salaries, especially of the 
country teachers, considerably increased. A Review, too, is started, 
devoted especially to subjects connected Avith education, and is 



14 CONVERSATIO^r WITH THE CHIEF OF POLICE. 

supported really with mucli spirit. This is but a rough, brief 
sketch of what is going on, but the interesting fact to us Americans 
is that a reform-movement is really commencing in Austria, and 
at the basis of all political reforms — in education. It is pleasant, 
too, to find, what one does not often find even in Prussia itself, men 
of learning and talents giving their efforts to aiding " the masses," 
preparing school-books, and laboring for the ignorant as well 
as the learned. 

A few weeks spent in these and similar researches, and in the 
cheerful out-door life of Vienna, passed quickly away, and at length, 
one fine Spring morning, armed ^dth a recommendation from our 
Charge d' affaires at Vienna, I presented myself at the Bureau of 
Police, and requested a vise on my Passeporte for Hungary. 

The Director replied very blandly, but decidedly, that he 
regi'etted, but it was not possible for him to give it. 

I was somewhat taken aback by this — however, I resolved not to 
yield the matter so, and handed him my recommendation from 
Mr. McCurdy. 

He was sorry, but he had had instructions from Government, 
that no strangers should be admitted into Hungary, except upon 
business. They could not have people travelling over the Austrian 
Empire in this way ! 

I rose up and went towards him. 

" Wh?/ is this ? What objections have you to me ? You have 
my Passport. You have a recommendation from the American 
Embassador. You know my acquaintances in Vienna. What can 
you object ?" 

He replied, that Americans and English had interfered too much 
in their affairs and had travelled about, prying into various matters 
and had made very slanderous reports. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 15 

" All that may be true," I replied, " but what is there against 
me P 

Here he began to soften somewhat, and said that under the cir- 
cumstances, he would perhaps, make an exception in my case, espe- 
cially in view of the writing from our ambassador, but that he would 
give me a Provisionary passe, so that I must return to Vienna to 
reclaim my own. 

" It was indifferent to me," I said, " I intended to return to 
Vienna." 

" He must warn me, however," he continued, " I would be exposed 
to many disagreeabilities* from the police." 

" I had no fear at all," I rephed, " I had always found the Austrian 
Pohce the most poKte of any in Europe." 

This quite staggered him, and he went away, and after a little 
farther ceremony, returned with my own Passeporte, without any 
condition, and handed it to me, at the same time, warning me, for 
my own sake " not to make any expression in public of sentiments 
which I might entertain on certain matters !" 

" There was no danger," I said, " I w&s not in the habit of doing- 
such things in foreign countries." 

As I was going out, he apologised, saying he regretted all this, it 
was not voluntary on their part, they had their instructions, &c. &c., 
and with an educated man, he thought he had better be frank !" 

" I was very glad he had been frank^ I said, " I liked men to be 
so towards me !" 

" Mes compliments .'" on my part, and " EmpfehU mich Ihnen .^"f 
with a smooth bow, on his, and we parted, though T thought as far 

* There is'no other way of translating that most diplomatic word, "'Unan- 
nehmlichkeiten." 

t I recommend myself to you. 



16 THE CHIEF OF POLICE. 

as gentlemen of his profession ever do show it, he looked particularly 
ashamed. 

The truth was, I had my supple Director in a dilemma, and he 
knew it. The Austrian Government does not, as he said, like to 
have strangers travelling over the empire. They see too much. But 
here, he must either say, in effect, before Europe, that no educated 
traveller shall enter its provinces, or he must admit the dangerous 
intruder into one, whose condition Government would least desire to 
have known. 

My friends congratulated me much on my success with him, as he 
is an " old hand," they said in such mattere. I felt rather compla- 
cent, for a time, over it : but as the result showed, I had not by any 
means seen all " the play " of the skilful Commissary, and the laugh 
proved afterwards to be quite on the other side. 



CHAPTER n. 

As soon after this conversation as the weather seemed settled 
enough to permit of travelling over the notoriously wi-etched roads 
of Hungary, I went with my baggage, on board the Danube 
steamer, bound for Pressburg, Pesth, and Constantinople. My plan 
was to go directly to Pesth, the Capital of the countiy, and to spend 
no time on these intermediate towns, along the Danube, as from the 
German influence upon them, they show very httle of the present 
condition or character of the Hungarian people. 

It must be confessed that there was no countiy of Europe which 
I had approached with such deep interest and cuj'iosity, as I did this 
land of the Hungarians. The half Oriental character of the people, 
the singular nomadic customs which I knew still to exist among 
them, the remains of Feudal institutions, supplanted by modern 
improvements, and the remarkable political life of the nation, to- 
gether with their chivalrous habits, of which I had heard so much, 
all opened a most interesting field of observation to the traveller. 
Besides, for the sake of similar questions in other lands, I was very 
desirous to observe the effect upon the peasants of that grand act 
of Manumission fi-om serfdom, and, in view of the widely different 
opinions on the subject, to study the character of that great move- 



18 OBJECTS OF TRAVEL 

ment, the Revolution of 1848 — a movement which had fii'st brought 
out the Hungarians before the worid, under which they had devel- 
oped an energy such as few of the oldest States could show, and 
which had fastened the attention of Europe on their wavering strug- 
gle for more than a year. 

And here I must be allowed to say that I cannot consider the 
opinions upon this Hungarian question as at all necessarily deter- 
mining the sympathies of any one, either for freedom or despotism. 
It is true, the aristocratic parties of Europe are, in general, opposed 
to the Hungarians. But the attempt in Germany and France to 
divide the friends and enemies of Liberty, according to their views 
on this Revolution, would utterly fail. I have met many a sterling 
Democrat in Germany, who utterly opposed the Hungarians ; and 
we all know there is many a pubHc man in France, whose republi- 
canism is above all reproach, who would never think of sympathiz- 
ing with the "Magyar Revolution." In England, it is true, the 
" Liberals" are almost entirely for the Hungarians. And it must be 
confessed that in England there has always been a much better 
knowledge of Hungary than in all the rest of Europe. To the Ger- 
mans and the French, all the country beyond the Danube, is some- 
what of a " terra incognita^'' and they know scarcely more of its 
institutions than we do of those of the Chinese. 

But eveiy candid man must confess that first appearances, before 
one has studied the facts and events, are unfavorable. The old 
Constitution looks bad, and one must be quite certain which party 
struggled for its reform, and how far real liberty was aimed at, before 
one can swear confidently to the Revolution. 

For myself, entering on this journey, everything seemed favora- 
ble. I was fortunately supplied with letters of introduction. I had 
carefully studied the routes through the country, and knew well the 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 19 

best points for obtaining information, and for seeing the best exam- 
ples of what I wished to observe. The greatest difficulty, too, which 
I had feai'ed, from the opposition of the Viennese Police, was siu'- 
mounted, and I started under veiy good auspices. 

In rega,rd to the routes from Vienna into Hungary, the best is 
undoubtedly on the Danube. The steamboats belong to the Com- 
pany of the " Austrian Lloyd^'' and though not at all equaling 
our river steamboats, are not by any means poor boats. The run 
down is made in about twelve hours, but from Pesth up, against 
the rapid current, the time taken is nearly thirty-six hours. The 
best course for the traveller is to return by the railroad along the 
Danube, which finally connects vnth the road from Prague, and by 
which he can reach Vienna in ten hours from the time of starting. 

The navigation of the Danube by steamboats only dates some 
twenty years back ; but, in that time, it has changed the trade and 
travel on that stream to a wonderful degree. Before 1830, the only 
mode of going down the stream was by miserable boats and rafts, 
which were knocked to pieces for fire-w^ood, at the end of the 
voyage. And the trip up was made by a species of canal boats, 
di-awn slowly by some twenty or thirty horses. The innumerable 
mill boats in the stream, and the morasses and quick sands on the 
banks, made it a most dangerous mode of traveUing. It is said that 
not seldom the whole " team " of horses drawing the boat, would 
sink at once, inextricably, into the treacherous swamps which lino 
the river. 

At length the Company of the " Austrian Lloyd " was formed to 
navigate the Danube by steamboats, and through the incessant 
exertions of the man, who has done so much for all practical im- 
provements in Hungary — Count Szechenyi — it was firmly estab- 
lished. At the present time, the Company has over fifty steam- 



20 THE DANUBE. 

boats, which they run even to Constantinople, and from Trieste to 
Smyrna, Alexandria, and the whole East. Their success has been 
beyond what even the most enthusiastic supporters of the plan had 
expected. 

I observed on our own boat, as we steamed down fi'om 
Vienna, that Hke most of the steamboat companies on the conti- 
nent, they still employ Enghsh engineers- — for every few minutes, 
amid the Babel of foreign languages around us — Hungarian, 
Wallachian, Sclavonian, German — I could hear the voice of the 
captain, in a most home-like tone, to the engineer below, '•'•E-e-ase 
her ! Sto-p her /" Their engines, however, at present, are mostly 
made here, and at " Old Ofen," a httle above Pesth, they have a 
very good manufactory of machinery. 

I had at length fau-ly started for the land which had interested 
me so deeply for many yeai"s. The day seemed an appropriate one 
for entering the unhappy country. A cold storm of rain was beat- 
ing across the steamboat, through which one could dimly see the 
long line of monotonous willow bushes on the banks, or the melan- 
choly pine-forests on the hills. Occasionally the storm lulled, and 
the Carpathians stood out in the distance, frowning with the heavy 
masses of clouds on their summits. There were no houses on the 
banks, and the only buildings to be seen were the mill-boats, anchored 
by the shore. Now and then a soaked fisherman came out upon 
the sands to pull at his nets, and that was aU of the inhabitants 
which we could see. The whole had a most dreary, desolate look ; 
in unison, one could not but think, with the sorrowful and gloomy 
fortunes which had settled upon the unfortunate nation. 

Not far below Vienna, we passed the Island Lobau with the 
remains yet of those immense works of Napoleon — ^bridges and 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 21 

ramparts which appear built for a century, but which were only con- 
structed as a feint to hide a single movement of his army. 

A few hours rapid sail farther down the stream brought us at 
length to a point where a light tower, perched on a cliff, overlooked 
the river, and where another river poured its waters into the Dan- 
ube. This river, the March, forms the boundary between Hun- 
gary and Austria, and the castle has the name of Theben. On the 
one side of the Danube the Carpathians jut down from the North, 
and on the other, the Leytha Mountains press forward from 
the South. The river flows in a narrow pass between them, and 
forms, with a highway on the bank, the great Gate to Hungary 
from the West. 

Through this entrance, for all ages, have poured the armies of 
Europe and Asia, in their fierce ware. The possession of it, has 
decided, many a time, the fate of Hungary or of eastern Europe. 
Thi'ough this pass, rolled the tide of the Huns. Here swarmed the 
Turks after they had conquered Hungary, and from this, they over- 
run Em-ope, till they were defeated on the plains of France. The 
Crusaders came here ; the Austrians in their attacks on the Turks ; 
and the Hungarians in then* assaults on Em-ope. Through this, 
the defeated Ban retreated, in the last war, to Vienna and again, 
down through this came the armies of the Austrians, on their march 
to Pesth. 

The key to it on the Austrian side is Pressburg ; on the Hun- 
garian, Komorn. Had Gorgey poured his forces through this, after 
his victories on the Upper Danube, he would have undoubtedly 
taken Vienna — even with an Austrian garrison still in the Capital 
of Hungai-y — and have terminated the war. 

With this, or its key, Komorn, in the possession of the enemy, 
the Austrian armies would never have dared to advance into Cen- 



22 PRESSBURG. 

tral Hungary. And they were only enabled to leave it occupied in 
their rear, when the immense host of Russians was already in the 
heart of Hungaiy. 

At the end of this pass, Pressburg is seen — a city for a long time 
the capital of Hungary, where the parliament met and the king was 
crowned. 

It makes but a mean appearance from the river, and the only 
object remarkable fi-om a distance in it, is an immense palace, with 
four towers, on the top of a high hill. 

It is almost entu-ely a German town in its character, and with my 
objects, I had no curiosity to see it. 

It was here, however, that the well-known dramatic appeal of 
the young Queen, Maria Theresa, was made to the gallantry and 
sensibility of the Hungarian noblemen, under which they drew their 
swords in a frenzy of excitement, and swore " to die for their Sove- 
reign !" — one of the last displays of any very enthusiastic loyalty by 
the Magyars, and for which, it is generally supposed, they paid quite 
too dearly. 

Here too, is the hill on which the king of Hungary ascended on 
horseback after his coronation, and where he went through the 
pantomime of wa\ang his sword to every point of the compass, 
as a token that he would defend and guard every portion of his 
kingdom. 

Below Pressburg, the Danube v^idens exceedingly, and we 
passed a great number of islands. Two of these are very large, 
the Greater and Lesser Schiitt, and contains large tracts of excel- 
lent land. Throughout, however, the scenery was exceedingly tame 
and monotonous, with the long rows of willow bushes on its banks, 
and the stream filled with the mill-boats. These are merely two 
boats, anchoi'ed in the stream, wth a mill-wheel between them, 



HUNGARY IN IS'Jl. 23 

turned by the current. In one, under tlie board covering, is tbe 
machinery for grmding the grain, and, in the other, the miller lives. 
They are a very great obstruction, everywhere, to the navigation of 
the Danube. 



CHAPTER III. 

On the Danube, April, 1851. 

We have just touched at " Gonyo," and, though the banks are 

as tame as ever in scenery, I begin to see more signs of the 

real Hungary. The men who stood on the landing, with the little, 

rough -looking horses, were the tallest, best-built men, I have seen 

in Europe. Peasants, probably, and with high boots and short 

jackets, and long moustache, in true Hungarian style. I can begin 

to see more of the villages too, on the plain, and the roofless 

houses, every few miles, tell of the storm which has passed over 

here. We are approaching the most hotly-contested battle-ground, 

during the whole war — the country near Komorn, and on the 

angle of the Danube, at Waizen. 

******* 

We have just passed Komorn. It does not appear fi-om the river 
at all imposing as a fortress. AH that one can see are long green 
lines of fortification, alone the Danube, with an occasional block- 
house, and white-coated Austrian sentry ; and beyond, the roofs 
and chimneys of the village within it. The most important of the 
works are not at all visible from the Danube. On the other side of 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 25 

the river, however, was a sight, which, coming upon one suddenly, 
was unspeakably affecting. There appeared to have been a flourish- 
ing, smiling village once, on the banks. Now, all that one could 
see were long rows of houses, roofless, with the tall, desolate chim- 
neys standing in the air. The gardens looked 2^1easant and home- 
hke, and the fruit trees were in rich bloom, and there were many 
signs of home everywhere, but no life ! The only thing stirring 
through the grass-grown streets, was some sheep, or forlorn-looking 
horse. The whole left an indescribable impression of loneliness and 
desolation upon one. This is probably but one out of many similar 
sights, which I shall see in this land. Oh, how much hast thou 
given, Hungarj^, for thy liberty ! and how httle hast thou w^on ! 
God grant thee a better futui-e ! In ray emotions over the sight, I 
was surprised that the other passengers were so indifferent, as no 
one appeared esj)ecially to notice it ; but I soon found that they 
were all occupied in discussing the merits of a great row which had 
been going on down below, between the Jews and the Austrians ; 
as they say the feelings between the two parties have been growing 
more and more embittered since Marshal Haynau's extraordinary 
measm-es toward the former. The banks are assuming a prettier 
aspect now, every mile, and neat villages meet the eye from all 
quarters. 

In reference to Komorn, I would say that I have since carefully 
examined the plan of it, and there can be no doubt to any one who 
has done so, that it is most completely defended, both by its 
position and the works erected. The Hungarians claim it as a 
fortress of " the first class," though among military men genei'ally it 
only ranks as "second," I beheve, or "third." It is the most 
important point in Hungary, for strategy, and in case of another 
wai', would be, as in the last, the centre of the fiercest conflict. A 
2 



26 THE FORTIFICATIONS OF KOMORN. 

brief description of the works, accordingly, may not be uninteresting. 
The whole seems rather a veiy strongly entrenched camp, than 
a fortress, as the distance from the extreme works on one side to 
those on the opposite is nearly five English miles. The real 
fortress itself, is in form nearly an equilateral ti'iangle, with the 
Danube for one side, the Waag for the other, and a Hne of ditches 
and forts drawn from one river to the other, for the base. The 
"VYaag flows into the Danube here, deep and strong, and forms 
an excellent defense for a distance on the eastern side. The 
Danube itself, of coui-se, is the best guard on the western and 
southern. And, on what I have called the base, the morasses, and 
the great strength and completeness of the works, erected at first 
by the Austrians and completed by the Hungarians, form almost 
an impregnable defense. Beside these, there is a range of hastily 
but well-constructed works on the other side of the Danube, with a 
tete du pont, to cover a bridge of boats to the fortress. Another 
fort to cover a bridge is bmlt on the Waag, and some fortifications 
on the other bank of that river also. The fortress itself, without tho 
extreme works, covers an immense area, holding the town of 
Komorn within it, and large barracks, which can aU be rendered 
bomb-proof without difficulty. It is calculated that 30,000 men 
are needed to garrison this fortress sufficiently. It has its weak 
points, however. In the Waag, a little distance up fi-om the 
mouth, is an island, which very much weakens the defense of the 
river on that side. On the other bank of the Waag too, near the 
Danube, are some heights which command a portion of the inner- 
works. Besides, the Danube and all the streams around it are 
hable to fi-eeze in the winter, and thus lay it open to attack. It is 
exposed too to earthquakes, of which one, and that very severe, has 
occm'red this year. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 27 

As I said before, it is probably the most important strategical 
point in Hungary, commanding all the upper Danube, and one of 
the two highways which lead to Vienna. The Hungaiians, under 
Klapka, defended it, with the greatest skiU and steadiness ; and the 
sally of Klapka at the close of the war, by which he defeated the 
Austrian forces with great slaughter, retook Raah and " G'onyd^'' 
and captm'ed an immense booty of provisions and ammunition, was 
one of the most brilliant actions of the whole year.* 

Had it happened earlier, it might have changed the whole tide 
of events. As it was, it thi-ew a parting lustre over the last gloomy 
events of the Hungarian struggle. 

Below Komorn, we passed <??r;^, with its fine cathedral, the 
residence and property of the Primate of Hungary, said by many 
to be the richest prelate, out of England, in all Europe. Like many 
of the Hungarian cities, this has suffered extremely in past centuries 
from the attacks of the Turks. At this point, the scenery on the 
river changes, and the stream begins to flow between high hills — 
though after all, there is no great beauty or picturesqueness to 
them. Not far below, the tall donjon of the Visegrad rears itself" 
on a hill, the only relic left of a splendid royal stronghold, about 
which many a strange story and wUd Hungarian legend is told. 

At Waizen the Danube makes a complete angle, and after this 
runs due south. 

The first one sees of Buda-Pesth, the gem and pride of 
Hungai'ian cities, is the height of the Blochsherg, a mountain with 
an observatoiy, behind Buda ; then the rocky citadel of Buda, or 
Ofen, as the Germans have named it, appears below this peak : and 

* Besides a whole park of artillery, there were captured by this sortie^ 
2,760 head of oxen ; five boats laden with corn and powder ; 500,000 cwt. 
of flour, and 40,000 uniforms. — ScnLKSiNGEa. 



28 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF PESTH. 

after this, the beautiful span of the suspension-bridge is seen, which 
connects the old town Buda with the newer and more beautiful 
city, Pesth. 

The firet impression which Pesth makes on the stranger, coming 
down the Danube, is veiy striking indeed. The long line of hand- 
some, massive buildings on the quai, more than a mile and a quarter 
in extent ; the regular, well-kept streets ; the graceful form of the 
bridge — perhaps the most beautiful suspension bridge in Europe — 
all form a most pleasing picture of thriving, modern hfe. Then, as 
a contrast to it, you have on the other side the quaint, old town 
of Ofen, with the narrow streets, and the houses built on the side 
of the hill, whose summit is crowned with the palace of the 
Viceroy, and the rough walls of the old fortress. As a background, 
rise the blue peaks of the Ofener Mountains. "We were soon 
landed, om* passports were rigorously demanded, and I, myself, 
after taking my quaiters in a hotel, sallied out to explore the 
city. 



CHAPTER IV. 

. Pbsth, April, 1861. 

Pesth is certainly a beautiful city ; so new-looking and so neat 
and well built. But tbe first impressions are somewhat injured by 
tbe crowd of wretched people one sees in all the market-places and 
principal streets. Slavonians, mostly, in the last stages of beggary, 
with a few rags hanging about them, a dirty sheep skin for cloak 
and for bed, and a broad-brimmed, gi-easy hat. Their faces, too, 
have such a cunning, wild expression. I have not seen more 
miserable objects since the beggai-s I met in County Wicklow, in 
Ireland. 

There are marks all through Pesth of the fearful bombardment 
it sustained from Ofen; half- built houses — squares sometimes 
entirely cleared of the buildings, and buildings torn and broken by 
the bombs. Pesth, however, seems thriving, compared with Ofen. 
There is a long tract in the side of the hill there, near the palace, 
where one of the assaults of the Hungarians was made, which is 
covered with roofless and empty houses, burned out with the 
terrible fii'e from both sides during the siege. The whole city, too, 
is interspei-sed with such ruins, and one can see that the majority of 
the houses are new-roofed. 



30 PESTH. 

I was surprised almost at the little life apparent in either city, 
once among the most hvely towns in Europe. My acquaintances 
say that I cannot at all imagine, the contrast between the appearance 
of Buda-Pesth now, and that before the Revolution, or during the 
year 1848. Then the city was full of the gentry, who resided here 
a good pai't of the year, the streets thronged with brilliant equipages, 
and Hvely with aU the gay costumes of the Hungarian soldiery 
and nobihty. The stream of business and travel, too, was incessant 
thi-ough every thoroughfare. There was not perhaps in Europe so 
brilliant, stirring, cheerful a city as Buda-Pesth. The Landtag, or 
Parhament, met here, calling together all the principal men of 
talent and rank through Hungaiy. Theatres had been built, not 
inferior to those in Vienna. Hotels among the best in Europe. 
A casino, after the plan of a London club, with the most elegant 
conveniences for batchelors, was erected. Strangers gathered 
together here from all parts of Europe, and there was no refined 
society on the Continent where a foreigner of education could so 
pleasantly spend his time as among the social circles of the 
Hugarian capital. Now the streets seem still and lifeless. No 
equipages are seen. The Hungarian costume is forbidden. The 
noblemen of Hungary, the men of talent and wit, the leaders of the 
nation, who once filled the city, and gave the hfe to its circles and 
drew business within its walls, are now scattered abroad as exiles 
through every land, or are living in gloomy and insecure retirement 
on their estates. Business has utterly flagged. ISTo one has any 
confidence in the present condition of Hungary continuing. The 
stream of communication which once poured over the bridge is now 
meagre enough. It is calculated by candid people that the popu- 
lation of Buda-Pesth, once some 120,000, has diminished full 
50,000 ! Strangers seldom visit it now, or if they do, have no 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 31 

heart to stay in a place where every foreigner is under the spying 
eyes of a police agent. 

The injuries suffered by the city took place during the siege of 
the Ofen citadel, by the Hungarians, in the spring of 1849. It will 
be remembered Gorgey's victories on the upper Danube, and Bern's 
brilliant campaign in Siebenbiirgen, had almost completely cleared 
the countiy of Austrians. Between the Drave and the Danube, on 
the South, they still kept up a feeble resistance, and they held the 
country in the neighborhood of Pressbm-g. But, though their 
armies in the Winter had been advanced as far as Szolnok and the 
Theiss, they were steadily driven back, forced from Pesth, and at 
last, with the exception of the points mentioned above, and one or 
two unimportant fortresses, completely driven from Hungary. 

The main army lay, discouraged and worn out, near the boi'ders 
of Hungary. The Russians had not yet interfered. A strong 
victorious Hungarian army was posted all along the Danube, fi-om 
Pesth to Komorn, and under Napoleon, a day would not have 
passed before that army would have been marching upon Vienna. 
It was the invaluable moment for the Hungarians. Success was 
almost sure to them, and they lost it. 

The genei-al opinion is, that it was Gorgey's treacheiy which led 
to the abandonment of this march upon Vienna, and spent the 
priceless time in the siege of Ofen, an unimportant fortress. But it 
seems to me doubtful. The whole nation, in characteristic manner, 
was in a frenzy of excitement to retake Ofen, " the Holy City," the 
capital — " the only place where the foot of the invader rested," and 
it is quite probable that the Ministry, who were not remarkable for 
iheir strategetical knowledge, yielded to this voice of the people, and 
ordered Gorgey to return and commence the siege. This, at least, 
is the account of many authorities not especially favorable to 



32 THE ASSAULT OF OFEN. 

Gorgey ; and it sounds consistently with the character of the 
Hungarian people. They are a nation highly Avrought up by 
present enthusiasm, and easy to be bhnded to consequences far 
ahead. They undoubtedly seemed to themselves to have utterly 
prostrated Austria, and to only need the capture of this citadel to 
complete the victory. Gorgey, who had a much cooler head, is 
reported to have said at once, when he received the order, " The 
cause is lost now ! 

Klapka, in his memoirs, gives a different account. He states, 
that Gorgey received an order only to beleaguer Ofen, with a small 
force, and to march on, with the main body, against the Austrians, 
but that he did the reverse. However, I am told that one of 
the officers of Klapka gives a different explanation, similar to the 
one above. In such confused times — particularly with regard to 
the great blunders of the war — the ti'uth is very difficult to obtain. 

Wherever the fault lay, the result was, that three weeks were 
spent in the siege of a fortress in no way important in the great 
plans of the war. The Hungarians had thought to take it at once 
by assault. But there was a tough, old Swiss officer, at the head 
of the garrison, Henzi, who would have seen everything blown into 
the air before he gave it up, and who fought every inch of ground. 
There are several points from which it can be bombarded, and from 
these the Hungarians kept up a tremendous fire upon it. The 
Austrians retorted by bombarding Pesth, which lies beneath them. 
Eye witnesses have described the scenes to me, during the nights of 
the bombardment, as most terrible. The long trains of fii*e through 
the air, from the heights of the Blocksberg to the fortress, and again 
from the fortress to the city, the unceasing booming of the cannon, 
the explosion of the shells, and the burning of the houses, formed a 
scene, such as the citizens of Pesth will not soon forget. The 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 33 

inhabitants had retreated in the meantime to then* cellars, or to the 
block-houses. 

At length, after nearly three weeks of this, the fortress was taken 
by assault, in the most daring manner, and Henzi fell on the ruins 
of it, at the head of his men. Two more weeks were spent iu 
rejoicing, and recruiting theh forces. At the end of this time the 
Austrians had re-foi'med another army. The Russians were in full 
march from several points into Hungary, and the favorable moment 
was gone for ever. 

The siege of Ofen must be confessed to have been the gi-eat 
mistake of the Hungarian campaign in 1849. 

I used often to walk about on parts of the old fortress. The 
breaches are all repaired ; the grass is growing greenly on the 
embankments, which were all demolished by the Hungarian fire ; 
and the Austrian bands give pleasant concerts on the spot where 
the fiercest assault of the Honveds was made. Except for the sight 
of an occasional maimed soldier, or of the ruined, desolate houses in 
the valley below, there would be nothing to remind one of the 
feai-ful struggle which raged there two years ago. 



2* 



CHAPTER y. 

Pesth, April, 1851. 

Mt time in Pesth was very busily employed indeed. There 
were the usual researches of a traveller — then the forming acquaint- 
ances with the citizens with reference to learning the views of the 
different pohtical parties, and in planning my route in the interior ; 
and, especially, the investigation of the old political constitution and 
laws of Hungary, for which the archives of Pesth offer the best 
advantages. 

The whole society of Pesth, even in this its time of depression, is 
exceedingly pleasant for the stranger. Despite the German influ- 
ence upon it, and the fact, that almost all intercourse is in the 
German language, the people have preserved their genuine Him- 
gai'ian traits. One feels at once he is in a different atmosphere from 
that which fills the German circles. There is a life, a kind of 
stormy eloquence about the conversation, such as you never meet in 
Germany. The people do love to talk, and certainly talk very well. 
Such noisy coffee-houses I have not seen in Em-ope. Then one is 
conscious at once of being in society, where wit is in vogue much 
more than in Germany ; keen, Hvely wit it is too. A joke against 
Austrian stupidity goes over Pesth with the quickness of thought. 



HUNGARY IN ISSl. 35 

But such a nation of orators, as they seem, from what one sees in 
the Capital ! The waiter who brings your coffee in the morning, 
when he finds you are an American, makes a speech. The clerk in 
the coach-office, where you are booking your name, runs off into a 
harangue over the wrongs of Hungary, which would do honor to a 
stump orator. Men speak in private society with an ease, a fire, 
such as I have never anywhere seen. And the theme everywhere, 
which hghts the eye, and thrills the voice, is Hungary, their beauti- 
ful, their once happy Fatherland, what it has been, and what it is 
now? Its glory, its wrongs, its hopes. With our cool Enghsh 
habit, it is difficult to understand, to imagine the natural, passionate 
eloquence with which almost every Hungarian speaks on that 
subject. It should be remembered that the Hungarians whom we 
see in America, are men in a foreign land, speaking a strange 
language, and afiected by all our customs. They would not wish it, 
they could not speak there as they do here. 

I happened to call upon a workman. As soon as he found I was 
an American, about to travel in Hungary, he burst forth. " O, Sir, 
if you could only have seen our country four or five years ago ! I 
do not believe there was so free and happy a country in Europe. 
Wine and corn, and everything so cheap for the poor man — the 
gentry making imj)rovements and reforming eveiywhere, and we 
had our Parliaments here in Pesth, and we voted for officers — and 
were independent of Austria. And now there is a tax on every- 
thing. We have to pay three Gulden (|1 60) for poll tax — and 
eveiy pound of flesh is taxed which we buy, and there is a tax on 
the gardens, and on the houses. And then we gain nothing. We 
have lost our Constitution and our rights. There is no more voting, 
or elections, or Parliament, here in Pesth. The whole country is 
deMP' * * * * I have been to 



36 CONVERSATION WITH A HUNGARIAN. 

see an acquaintance since, of the Government party. He regretted 
extremely I had chosen the present time to travel in Hungary — it 
would give me so imperfect an idea of the nation. If I could have 
come before the Revolution I would have seen the country in its 
pride and glory, intensely active and excited in its pohtical life, and 
every kind of material improvement going on. 

Or, if I could have come immediately after the Revolution, the 
very aspect of the national excitement — inspiration, would have 
been grand to look upon. But now the whole country was lifeless 
— spu-itless — cast down. " We have staked all," said he, " on the 
game, and have lost all. The Government, too, I regret to say, is 
not well advised, or does not understand the Hungarian character, 
and everything goes on wrong. No man can predict the future. 
The present condition cannot last !" 

Called upon Mr. S., to whom I had a letter, and met there 

T , a tall, fine looking Hungarian. He spoke with those full 

rich tones which one heare so often from the Hungarians. " We 
welcome an American," said he, " most gladly to this land. But 
you have come at an unhappy time. The old Constitution under 
which we have lived for more than eight hundred yeare, is scattered 
to the winds. We have lost all that a nation can lose. You will 
see nothing here of the old freedom and the privileges which we 
used to boast of. The people have lost their means by this war, 
and now their liberties. Every step is hemmed by obstructions, and 
one cannot stir without coming upon an Austrian spy." 

I spoke of my intention of visiting the interior, and inquired 
whether it would be advisable. He said there would be no diffi- 
culty, but " Oh, su'," said he, " if you could only have seen this land 
four years ago. There was not so happy and free a land in Europe ! 
You will see something now, of the old hospitahty, but for the most 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 37 

joart, the people have not the heart for it. The gentlemen are liv- 
ing in rethement, and economically ; and all under the fear that 
they may at any time be called before the courts again. Every one 
is discontented, and looking forward to a change ; but no one can 
see how it is to come." 

I went by accident into a saddler's shop, and the moment he 
found I was no Austrian, he burst out with his feelings over the 
change in his country. 

" It was so pleasant a land ! And we had our own freedom, as 
they have now in America ; an(>Pesth was so Hvely. The gentry 
used to come here to the shop and buy so much for their hunts and 
races, and talk pohtics here ! and everything was so cheap ! Wine 
was only 2 kreutzers, (li cents) a bottle. But now we have to pay 
all the Austrian taxes ; and the gentry are all gone ; and we are all 
just like slaves ! If I can only sell my stock I shall go over at once 
to America !" 

I happened into a coach office and enquired about routes in the 
interior, and the clerk, as soon as he found I was an American trav- 
eUing in Austria, began in a similar strain. " It had been such a 
beautiful, happy country," he said, " there could be nothing like it. 
Every class of people so comfortable ; everything so cheap !" He 
had not known much of other lands, but he did not beheve there 
could have been such an independent, happy people on the earth ! 
And now, everywhere oppressed! Everything they could eat, 
or di-ink, taxed. Nothing free — every word watched by Austrian 
spies !" 

With all these, I have not led on an expression of their views at 
aU ; but, in a moment, when they have known I was a foreigner, 
they have poui-ed out then feeling in this w£iy. And it is entirely 



-38 HUNGARIAN WIT. 

impossible to give again in words, the passionate, eloquent manner 
they have, of expressing themselves. 

I find that everywhere as I mingle in society, an American is 
most heartily welcomed. Such hospitality, in all my experience of 
strange lands, I have never seen even approached, and yet the city 
is not, by any means, a genuine specimen of a Hungarian city. 

As I said before, good hits at the Austrians, are in great circula- 
tion among the people of Pesth. 

Very naturally they find it hard enough to be paying now for 
Austrian debts, and to be obliged to use, everywhere, this miserable 
Imperial paper money, and, as they can do nothing else, they crack 
their jokes at the whole system. Among other stories they tell one 
of a visit which the Emperor lately made to Trieste, wherein, in a 
triumphal procession, in the excitement of the moment, he called 
upon the Finance Minister for money to distribute among the hur- 
rahing crowd. The minister " begged his Majesty's pardon, but 
advised him not to attempt it !" 

" Why ?" said the enthusiastic young prince. " The wind is too 
high ! yom' Majesty !" replied the minister, " it would he all blown 
away !" 

They repeated, too, another occurrence, which, it is said, really 
took place lately in Vienna. A juggler was on the stage, before a 
crowded house, and among other tricks, took a silver Zwansiger, (a 
coin which, hke all other silver or gold pieces, has mostly disappeared 
from Austria,) in his hand, held it up before the crowd, opened his 
hand, and the coin was gone. 

He had hardly proceeded thus far in the performance, when a 
rough voice, in the broad Vienna accent, came out of the gallery — 
" Ach, das kann lie auk .^" (Poh ! I can do that too !) The jug- 
gler then turned his hand again, muttered some incantations, opened 



HtfNdARY IN 1851. 39 

it, and tbere was the Zwanziger. The voice again came, in the 
most hopeless tone — " Sacrament ! das kann Ik nit /" (That I 
can't do !) The juggler turned at this second exclamation, to the 
gallery, and asked who it was that interrupted him so. " The Aus- 
trian Finance Minister .-"' repHed the voice in doleful tones. The 
audience took the joke at once, and rose with one universal cheer for 
" the man in the gallery !" 

Everywhere that I went, I found a bitter indignation at this spy- 
ing, underhanded system of the Austrians. They had been used, 
and their fathers before them, to talk freely, they said — and, now, 
to feel that every servant might be a spy, and that there was not a 
movement which was not watched by some contemptible agent of 
govei-nment. It worried them ; it sickened them more than all the 
cruelty of the Austrian system, they said. At the time, I did not 
credit such a state of thing-s, supposing it one of the exaggerations 
which, would be natural to a people, just in reahty conquered. They 
told me how this gentleman's servant used regularly to report his 
words at dinner to the pohce ; how another was dogged in the 
streets by these agents ; how spies sat in the churches to watch 
even the clergyman's prayer and sermon. 

I told them frankly, then, that I must see more before I could 
believe that such a system of rascality existed. I need not say that 
now I not only believe it, but wonder I ever doubted it. There is 
no depth of meanness and falseness in the Austrian police system 
which I cannot credit. I have seen and experienced all that my 
friends here described. I have seen that there is a widespread, 
efficient administration here, managed with the precision and 
exactness with which the affairs of a first class New York importing 
house would be, and yet, whose principle and whose every object is 
the most false, the most degrading to manhood and honor, that can 



40 THE POLICE RULE. 

be imagined. Is is underlianded villainy, and the vilest deception, 
legalized and systematized. 

A short time before I arrived, a hoy — a child, was imprisoned for 
wearing the Hungarian costume, which is merely a blue jacket 
with embroidery, together with, perhaps, one of their embroidered 
caps ! The Hungarian colors, too, are forbidden, though the 
ladies do manage to get them into their dresses. No one is 
allowed even to petition ! So that an humble request to " His 
Apostolic Highness" is a crime. And, it was said, a clergyman 
had been, not long since, imprisoned for some time, for daring to 
respectfully petition the Emperor with regard to some church 
matter. They must first obtain leave fi'om the police to make a 
request. 



CHAPTER YI. 

Pesth. 

It is somewhat remarkable, yet Pesth has more of the comforts 
of a city, than many even of the largest cities of North Europe. 
The Hungarians have always had a much more practical turn than 
the races around them, and a far greater tendency to imitate both 
the Enghsh and French, than their neighbors, the Germans, which 
may perhaps account for this, in part. Certain it is, however, that 
the hotels in Pesth are far better than the best in Vienna or Berlin. 
The coffee-houses, too, are not surpassed by the best on the Boule- 
vards, and the Casino, or Club, with its reading-rooms, and saloons, 
and dining halls, is equal to anything of the kind in Europe, except 
tho palace-hke establishments in London. 

I would here, while speaking of these matters, recommend espe- 
cially to any American traveller who may happen to visit Pesth, the 
Tiger Hotel, certainly the most comfortable in the city, and whose 
proprietor. Dr. F., is a very polite, cultivated gentleman, speaking 
English hke a native. 

As I walked over the City, it was interesting to observe how the 
Austrians were preparing for future struggles. The citadel has 
been entirely repaired and strengthened ; the heights of the Blocks- 



42 MILITARY PREPARATIONS IN PESTH. 

herg above, from which the Hungarians had bombarded the for- 
tress, are now being fortified and held by an Austrian detachment, 
and, on the other side of the river, a strong block-house is to be 
buUt in Pesth, as a " tete du pont^'' to cover the bridge. 

There is, beside, quite a heavy complement of soldiery stationed 
in the city, mostly quartered in a singular structure, called the 
Neugebaude. This was erected in 1786 by the Austrian Emperor, 
for some unexplainable purpose, though it is generally supposed he 
intended it as an immense prison. It consists of a large square, 
built around with tall, massive buildings, and entered by arched 
gateways. It is principally used ^ a barracks, and must be capable 
of holding several thousands. Since the Revolution, it has formed 
one of the great State prisons of Hungary, in whose well-secured 
dungeons lie the " Hungarian Rebels." In my imprisonment 
afterwards, fi-om the number of my comrades who had been there, 
the name became as familiar to me as any name in Hungaiy. And 
I have additional reasons to remember the building, from the fact 
that my last trial in Hungary occurred in one of its dismal court- 
rooms. 

The Town Hall. 

One of the most interesting spots in the city, for modem asso- 
ciations, is the new Town Hall. My friends led me here, and 
showed me the spot on the summit of the grand flight of steps 
where the Revolution was first proclaimed to the citizens of Pesth. 
It was in the March days of 1848, and the movement, which had 
been working for so many years in Hungary, at length burst forth. 
They described to me how the vast square in front of the building 
was crowded with excited people — and, with what intense enthu- 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 43 

siasm the proposition was received for forming a "Committee of 
Safety" for Pesth, or, in other words, for foi-ming a Government for 
the city, independent of Austrian influence. Most of the men 
whose stining words on that night so aroused the people, have 
atoned for their boldness on the scaffold, or at the gallows. The 
rest wait, in exile, for better times for their country. 

I have never certainly experienced more real kindness, than from 
the many acquaintances I made in Pesth. They seemed to under- 
stand intuitively the objects of a traveller, and to further them in a 
practical efficient way, which only a traveller can appreciate. 

Prof. W. — a most loyal friend of the Government — even 
appointed an afternoon in which I was to present my questions and 
objections with regard to the old Hungarian Constitution, in 
writing, and he, with some lawyers, and the old books of laws 
before them were to answer as they best can. A most practical 
and efficient method for me. 

I found throughout the city, as I began to see the insides of the 
houses, that every part had suffered from the bombardment. 

One lady showed me a huge cannon ball, which she had found 
the next morning in her parlor-floor, which she still preserved. 

A clergyman pointed out to me the ruins of his library, all torn to 
pieces, by the bomb shells. There are some large squares, com- 
pletely burned out and not yet rebuilt. It will be long before 
Pesth recovers from that fearful punishment which Henzi inflicted. 

Punishment op Madame Maderspach. 

Among the other victims of the Austrian Government there still 
lives in Pesth, the lady who was scourged by Haynau's soldiers — 
Madame Maderspach. I have niet several who have seen her, and 



44 THE FLOGGING OF MADAME MADERSPACH. 

the account they give of the affair is as follows, and, I suppose, is 
substantially correct. 

She was a lady of fortune and rank, residing in Siebenbiirgen 
the south-eastern part of Hungary. Her husband was an officer in 
the Hungarian army, and she herself, naturally sympathised Avith 
his party and it is said, frequently entertained Bern and the officers 
under him, in a very hospitable manner. This had exasperated the 
Austrians, and when, at length, they occupied that part of Hungary, 
they were quite ready for any severities against her. 

Unfortunately for her, her tenantry made some celebration at the 
time, and bm-ned (she claimed without her knowledge,) the 
Emperor Francis in effigy! She was at once seized, and, 
at the command of the Austrian officer, made " to run the 
gauntlet," or the " Gassenlauf^'' as they call it. I gained some 
acquaintance with this Austrian pmiishment while in the Gros 
Wardein prison, as it was appHed to all the thieves and deserters 
of the regiment every Satm'day afternoon. The custom is, usually, 
to call out three hundred men, who form two rows, one hundred 
and fifty on a side. Each man is to be provided with a tough, 
limber stick. The criminal, a hardy, strong man, commonly, is 
stripped to the waist, and made to walk leisurely through at the 
beat of the drum. If any one in the Hne neglects to lay on, 
as hard as he can, he gets " five and-twenty" himself. It is 
generally calculated that a strong man, sent through this lane four 
times, if he has strength enough to get to the end, wiU die within 
a few hours. 

This was Madame Maderspach's punishment, though with 
generous consideration for her sex, the " run" was probably hmited 
to once through 1 

The effect upon the proud, high-born lady was to drive her into 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 45 

insanity. The news of such a public, brutal indignity on his wife, 
so affected the husband that he shot himself through the brain. 
And, to entirely hush up the matter, the only survivor, a young son? 
was drafted into the Austrian army in Italy as a common soldier, 
where he is still. The whole deed seems to have come, if not 
directly from Haynau, at least from his general ordera. 

The poor lady lives still in Pesth, in a half-crazed condition. It 
is said, after Haynau's tremendous flagellation by the London 
brewers, some one sent her a paper, containing an account of it ; 
and that she kept it for days in her boso7n, wet with her tears f 

Somehow or other, she obtained, too, a piece of one of the 
brooms with which he was beaten, and, maniac-hke, she has made 
a bracelet of it, which she now wears. 

The Hungarians assert that this instance of Madame Maderspach 
is only one of several similar. 



CHAPTER yn. 

Kossuth. 

Of course, there has been a great deal of conversation here in 
Pesth, about Gorgey and Kossuth, and I have been quite curious 
to find out what the general opinion in regard to these men is, and 
whether it agrees with that in foreign countries. Kossuth's mother 
is now here, residing in the city, and I suspect, in various ways, the 
people get a gi-eat deal of information about him and his move- 
ments. 

To say that Kossuth is beloved here, seems hardly necessaiy, 
after what I have seen. He is idolized. Every word and trait of 
his character is remembered with an indescribable affection. Even 
his faults are such, as the people half love, when, they blame. 
They all acknowledge he did not possess all the qualities of a revo- 
lutionaiy leader. There was too much tenderness in him. He had 
none of the just severity of a Washington, or the sternness of a 
Cromwell. He never could sign a death warrant, they say, through 
his whole administration. And there was httle doubt, if he had 
brought Gorgey before a court-martial, three months before the final 
surrender, he might have saved the country. But he never could 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 47 

force himself to it, though often urged by his friends. Some one 
told me, who, I believe was present, that a proposition was made by 
one of the ministry, on a certain occasion, to at once hang some 
prominent men, who were openly traitors to the Hungarian cause. 

He remarked immediately that he must resign his place, if any 
such measures were seriously considered. 

They aU lament that he did not also possess strategical talents as 
Washington, so that the fatal division, which ruined the Hungarian 
cause, might have been avoided. 

Many think too, that he was not far-seeing enough, as a states- 
man, and was too much wrapped up in his visionary ideas to judge 
well of distant European politics. And that, accordingly, he had 
reckoned too much on aid from other powers in the beginning of the 
struggle, which had never been even promised him. The " Old Con- 
servatives " say, that, even if he had succeeded, he would never have 
been a good statesman. He was only an " agitator." Still, with 
all these flaws, which are found in his character, I have never met 
the man yet, even in the most conservative circles of Vienna, who 
doubted the purity of Kossuth's motives, or could cast a slur oft the 
stainless honor of his political couree. 

To all in Germany or Hungary, who love free principles, he has 
endeared himself by a long and unwavering course of devotion to 
freedom. His fii-st efforts were given to it. His independent course 
cost him nearly three years, from the best of his hfe, in an Austrian 
dungeon. He came forth, broken indeed in health, but not in 
spirit, to work again in the same good cause ; and since, through 
danger and obloquy, he has labored steadily on for the renovation 
of Hungaiy. 

A man from the middle classes, he has never possessed the con- 
fidence of the great nobility — the Magnates — but the heart of the 



48 HIS INFLUENCE OVER THE PEASANTRY. 

■people is his. Through his words, more than by any other influence 
did the parliament of 1832 do away with many of those abomina- 
ble exactions on the peasantry of Hungary — and, as the result in 
great part of his unceasing efforts, may we consider, that grand Act 

of justice and generosity — one of the grandest on record in history 

of the parliament of '47 '48, by which every exaction and burden 
of the Hungarian peasantry was removed, with the loss to the land- 
lords of the country of nearly ninety millions of dollars! One 
can imagine the influence and power which could even aid in pro- 
ducing such results. 

Whatever may be said of Kossuth in Austria or Hungary, friend 
and foe unite in confessing the unequalled power of his eloquence. 
No human voice, they Avill tell you, ever thrilled with such music or 
passion. He " agitated," the whole land — and there is not a Bauer 
in the villages or a Csikos* on the prairies, they say, who does not 
remember, as the day of days, the time when, in breathless silence, 
he listened to those thriUing tones, as they spoke in indignation or 
in solemnity, of freedom, of the rights of the poor man, of the 
wrongs of their beloved Fatherland, of the retribution coming, and 
of the " God of the Hungarians." 

I would mention here, that everything I then learned of Kos- 
suth's influence over the peasantry, has been more than confirmed 
by what I have seen since in the countiy. The instances were innu- 
merable, of which more hereafter. 

I must mention here, however, an occurrence which took place 
lately in Szegedin, as showing how the " Reformer " is remembered. 
A file of prisoners were led into Szegedin, with a heavy Austriati 
guard attending them. It happened to be a market-day, on which* 
the town is crowded with an immense mass of sturdy peasants from 
* Wild cattle driver. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 49 

the whole country around. For some cause or other, the van of 
the soldiei-s had fallen a little behind, and the fii'st prisoner entered 
the market-place almost alone for the moment. As he came to the 
spot where Kossuth's last and most spirit-stirring speeches were 
made, he suddenly stopped — took off his hat — raised his fettered 
hands to heaven, and with a voice which rung like a trumpet over 
the immense crowd, shouted again and again, " Eljen Kossuth ! 
Eljen Kossuth /" 

In a moment, without thought of preparation or of combining — 
despite the Austrian cannon, which commanded the town, and the 
long line of soldiers, whose bayonets almost touched them — there 
came from the vast multitude a shout, hke the roar of the sea on the 
shore — rung out again and again, and repeated, " Eljen Kossuth ! 
Eljen Kossuth ! Eljen Kossuth P'' 

It is said the whole Austrian forces in the city were at once called 
out for fear of an outbreak. 

While I was in Vienna, an instance occurred of this singular 
attachment of the common Hungarians to Kossuth. 

One of the privates in an Austrian regiment, stationed in Yienna, 
himself a Hungarian, was overheard by his officer to say " Eljen 
Kossuth /" He was ordered " five-and-twenty," at once. It 
appears when a man is flogged in the Austrian army, he is obliged 
by law to thank the officer. This the Hungarian refused to do. 
Another " five-and-twenty" were given him. Still he refused. 
Again, another flogging ; and the Hungarian, as he rose, muttered 
his thanks with the words — " My hack belongs to the Emperor, but 
my heart to Kossuth /" 

I need not say here, what is perhaps well enough known every- 
where, that the Austrian monarchy has no more dangerous enemy 
existing than Louis Kossuth. Even now, with Austrian soldiers in 



50 HIS ELOQUENCE. 

every village, without arms or means, despoiled of its best and 
bravest, the land needs but his voice to start it again into a whirl- 
wind of revolution. 

I, myself, rather doubt whether Kossuth's eloquence would have 
as great an effect on an Anglo-Saxon audience as a Hungarian.* It. 
is too tropical, almost, for our latitude; too rich in splendid imagery, 
too poetic and passionate, to suit our cooler natures. Yet, who 
should judge alone from the written speeches ? It is notorious that 
the reported orations of the two greatest oratore in our country — 
Clay, and the earlier native orator of the Revolution, Patrick Henry 
— never began to convey an idea of their rich eloquence. Many of 
Kossuth's speeches, however, as one reads them, are able poHtical 
arguments, as well as passionate appeals. 

And it is very evident, even in the Reports, that he was master 
of all the arts of oratory. His opening words they say, like the 
Hungarian national aii's, were always low and plaintive in the 
utterance, and reminded you, at first, rather of some poet or con- 
templative clergyman, than of the political orator. But gradually 
Lis face hghted up, his voice deepened and swelled with his feeling ; 
and there came forth tones which, for thrilling passion, and power, 
and sweetness — those say who heard him — were never equalled by 
human voice. His appeals, like those of most of the greatest 
orators on record, were addressed exceedingly often to the religious 
feelings of his hearere — a practice entirely consistent with his own 
nature, which is deeply tinged with reverence. Tn fact, this ten- 
dency of his, is perhaps one great secret of his power over the 

* This was written before Kossnth had made his grand efforts in oratory 
in England and America. It is worth retaining to show the impressions 
derived of him, in Hungary itself, and to illustrate the extraordinary ability 
of the man, in adapting his speeches to different nations. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 51 

fCoiHe of Hungaiy — for the peasantry of that land, beyond that of 
almost any other, are remarkable for a simple, reverent piety.'* 

* We give a specimen of one of those almost prophetic appeals which 
Kossuth addressed to the Hungarians. 

" Hear ! patriots hear ! 

" The Eternal Gon doth not manifest Himself in passing wonders, but in 
everlasting laws. 

" It is an eternal Law of God, that whosoever abandoneth himself, will 
be of God forsaken. 

" It is an Eternal Law, that whosoever assisteth himself, him will the 
Lord assist. 

" It is a Divine Law, that swearing falsely is by its results, self- 
chastised. 

" It is a Law of God, that he who resorteth to perjury and injustice 
prepareth his own shame and the triumph of the righteous Cause. 

" In firm reliance upon these eternal laws — on these laws of the Universe 
— I aver that my prophecy will be fulfilled, and I foretell that this invasion 
of Jellachich, will work out Hungary's liberation. * * * 

" The Hungarian people have two duties to fulfil. 

" The first, to rise in masses and crush the foe, invading her paternal 
soil. 

" The second, to remember. 

"If the Hungarian should neglect these duties, he will prove himself 
dastardly and base. His name will be synonymous with shame and wick- 
edness. So base and dastardly, as to have himself disgraced the holy 
memory of his forefathers — so base, that even his Maker shall repent 
having created him to dwell upon this earth — so accursed, that air shall 
refuse him its vivifying strength — that the corn-field, rich in blessings, 
shall grow into a desert beneath his hand — that the refreshing well-head 
shall dry up at his approach. Then shall he wander homeless about the 
world, imploring in vain from compassion, the dry bread of charity. 

" For the consolation of religion, he shall sigh in vain. 
" The craven spirit, by which Creation has been polluted, shall find no 
forgiveness in this world, no pardon in the next 



52 HIS SPEECH ON THE WAR-QUESTION. 

If eloquence is to be judged from its effects, there has been no 
orator like Kossuth since Demosthenes. 

My friends have often described to me one of the most splendid 
of his efforts, when, in the face of a vigorous opposition, he had 
brought forward his bill before the Parliament of '48, for a levy of 
200,000 men, and the raising of an immense sum of money, neces- 
sary for the war. It was the great crisis of the session — indeed 
of Hungary's whole histoiy. All felt it so ; all were reluctant to take 
the last step, which should commit them to open war. 

After a long and most eloquent argument and speech for his bill, 
he at length said : " To-day, we are the Ministers of the nation ; to- 
morrow, there may be others. That is a matter of no conse- 
quence. The Ministry can change, but Thou, oh, my Country, 
must for ever endure — and with this, or another Ministry, the 
nation must preserve the Fatherland. Therefore, to avoid all mis- 
understandings, I say outright, and solemnly, that if I ask this 
House for 200,000 soldiei's, and the necessary sums thereto, and 
they do not — " 

Before he could finish his sentence, the House, worked up to an 
intense pitch of excitement by the speech, rose as one man, and 
shouted, " We give it ! we give it .■"' 

It is said, that all Kossuth could do in reply was to bow low to 
the audience, the tears flowing down his cheeks, with the words, 
" / how myself before the greatness of this nation ; if there be as 
much energy in the execution as there has been patriotism in the 
offer. Hell itself could never conquer Hungary !" 

" To arms ! Every man to arms ! And let the women dig a deep grave 
between Vesyprem and Schervar, in which to bury either the name, fame, 
and nationality of Hungary, or our ' enemy.' " — Memoirs of a Hungarian 
Lady, by Madame Pulsky, p 169. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 53 

The effect of the speech was such that the President of the 
Assembly left his seat to embrace the orator, and the House 
instantly adjourned, as unable to attend to any other business 
after it. 

For myself, I must say, that from all my opportunities of judg- 
ing, the opinion of the nation of Kossuth's character seems the 
correct one. That he was no General, and never claimed to be, 
every one must admit ; that he had not the sternness of a Revolu- 
tionary Leader, one must also allow and can easily pardon ; that he 
was too easily influenced by those he loved, and too often led by 
membei-s of his own family, not so democratically inchned as himself, 
there seems reason to believe. But that " he was only an Agitator" 
is not true. The measures which he undertook and carried out in 
the beginning of his administration for the improvement of the 
finances, and for the bringing every possible power of Hungary into 
action, are among the most gigantic and yet efficient which any 
financial minister ever attempted. Of these we shall have more to 
say hereafter. 

It is not to be denied, that if Kossuth could have executed 
Goi'gey, he might have saved the country. But this was no easy 
matter. Gorgey's treachery was by no means apparent. The 
great mass of Magyar officers and many of the privates were 
devotedly attached to him. Two of the ministry itself, Aulich and 
Csdnyi, were his firm friends. 

And the others, among whom was Casimlr Batthyanyi, held 
themselves neutral. Kossuth and S-zemere^ alone mistrusted his 
fidelity. In the very last session too, of the Hungarian Parliament, 
(July 28), less than three weeks before the final surrender, a large 
majority expressed themselves, though indirectly, in favor of Gorgey. 
An attempt of Kossuth to .oi-rest or try such a General, at the head 



54 OPINIONS OF HIS CHARACTER. 

of his army, might have cost him his own hfc, and ruined the last 
feeble chance for the Hungarian cause. 

It is true, also, that he had reckoned on sympathy from the free 
and the liberal everywhere in Europe, which he did not receive — a 
mistake into which very many, even in foreign lands, fell, besides 
himself. 

Was it strange that a State which had supported liberal institu- 
tions for more than six hundred yeare, which was now perilUng its 
life in the defence of them, should expect some little aid from the 
old champions of freedom in Europe ? 

Would it seem so extremely improbable, that England, which had 
often interfered in much pettier matters on the Continent, should 
stretch out a strong arm here, and demand " fair play" for the hard 
sti'uggle for liberty ? One can well pardon it in a Hungarian states- 
man that he expected this — and can only wonder that he was 
disappointed. 

Whatever may be said of Kossuth hereafter, history will record of 
him that he was a revolutionary Leader, without a stain of dishonor 
or cruelty upon his character ; that he headed a nation in its 
struggles without leaving a suspicion of ambition being among his 
motives. 

We hope and believe, however, that his part is not yet played out 
in the world's history. 

I had written thus far of Kossuth, as he came before me in 
Hungary. In his late progress through England and America, all 
these impressions have only deepened and strengthened. Adversity 
has expanded him. He seems no longer the Hungarian orator or 
statesman — the man of tender, affectionate nature. 

He stands up before us rather as a great, massive character — a 
man for aU times and countries. 



.HUNGARY IN 1851. 55 

Yes, History has witnessed no more sublime siglit. 

The Exile and Outcast for freedom, beaten by misfortunes and 
sorrows, yet laboring on — hopeful, undismayed, trusting in the 
might of Principle and a great Cause — for his unhappy people • 
pleading before other nations for his own nation, even as for his owa 
life! 

The man fi-om a distant Oriental tribe, coming here and uttering, 
in a foreign tongue, principles of such exalted and comprehensive 
Truth and Nobleness, and so stamping them with the wonderful 
sincerity and dignity of his character, that the coldest of us are 
inspired — and the journey of the fugitive becomes a tiiumph, such 
as no king or conqueror could win. 

Kossuth may fail ; the Cause which he loves may go down in 
darkness ; but the thoughts and words he has uttered here are 
sowing a mighty harvest. 



CHAPTEE YIII. 

GoRGEY. 

Tu regard to Gbrgey, one of my friends here lately remarked, 
that he was the opposite of Kossuth — " Kossuth was a Hungarian 
and nothing else — and Gorgey was everything but a Hungarian." 

There's much truth in the remark. Gorgey never had the least 
sympathy with either the virtues or the weaknesses of his country- 
men. A man of cold, stern nature, of few words and tremendous 
deed^ he always laughed over the Magyar fire, and eloquence, and 
patriotism. Despite the falseness he displayed at last, there is some- 
thing very striking about his character. If he was a traitor, he was 
no common one. 

His career commenced in a characteristic way, by his hanging up, 
Avhen he was only a major, one of the fii"st noblemen* of Hungary, 
for treachery, as sternly and indifferently as if the man had been a 
run-a-Avay drummer. The affair made a great noise, and brought 
his name very prominently before the public. His after coui-se was 
consistent with this — as cool in a discharge of grape, his officers say, 
as he was at the council-board. 

* Count Zichy. 



HUNGARY IN 1851, 57 

They have told me they have often seen him, in the midst of a 
fearful charge around him, sitting quietly on his horse, with pistol 
in hand — hut not for the enemy. The moment he saw a man flinch 
he shot him as unrelentingly as if he had been a dog. He seemed 
to othei-s utterly cold and indifferent to what men usually long 
after. He alwavs professed, amid his most splendid achievements, 
he would rather be teaching chemistry than leading an army. 
When Kossuth sent him, on one occasion, 200,000 guilders, 
($100,000), to make a provision for his future, and, in order not to 
offend him, inclosed it to his wife, he sent it back, with the remark, 
" If I fall, I shall not need it, and my wife can be governess again 
as she was before ; if we are conquered, and I escape, I can be pro- 
fessor abroad ; if we conquer, and I survive the victoiy, I need no 
money now !" 

After one of his grand victories, the ministiy sent him certain 
decorations and orders of honor ; he put them aside with a sneer, 
that " such gew-gaws were not the things for a Repuhlkr 

People have told me, that after the storming of Ofen, the only 
word on the lips of the people and of the army, was " Gbrgey ! 
Gorgey /" but with all the demonstrations before his quarters, he 
never even showed himself, and remained coldly within, indeed ex- 
pressing himself, that " This very bombardment was the ruin of 
Hungary." 

He always sneered at everybody, even the friends who idolized 
him ; and was almost the only man in Hungary, who was perfectly 
indifferent under Kossuth's eloquence. Amid the splendidly dressed 
Hungarian officers, he always appeared in his old major's coat, and 
in boots, which he had not taken ofi^ perhaps, for a week. 

A lady told me that she met him after the taking of Ofen, in a 
vile-looking coat, with a gi'eat hole in one of the elbows. 
3* 



58 HIS PRIDE OF CHARACTER. 

She remonstrated with him for weariug such a thing. " Poh !" 
he said, " I shall be known thi-ough all my rag-s !" 

" Hah^'' said she, pointing to the rent), " see the Diogenes 'peeking 
through the hole P'' at which he seemed very unusually disconcerted. 
And I have no doubt, the lady had hit the matter, exactly. It was 
not that he was indifferent to people's opinion. He took this very 
cuui-se to show his own pride ; his ruling trait seems to have been a 
mean, selfish pride. 

With such a character as this, he never could endure the supre- 
macy of Kossuth. And very probably, to a cold, proud man hke 
him, the sense of obligation — Kossuth had elevated him to his pre- 
sent rank — embittered his jealousy. From all I have heard in Hun- 
gary, I should judge that there must have been constant bickerings 
between them. He never appreciated at all Kossuth's ideal, eleva- 
ted character, and, soldier-like, despised him for being no General, 
and Kossuth in return, could not understand a nature so icy and 
indifferent as Gorgey's. In regard to his treachery, there is still 
some little difference of opinion in Hungary. A few believe that as 
long as a General could, he up held the sinking fortunes of the coun- 
try, and at length surrendered, when there was nothing more for 
man to do. The general voice, however, pronounces him a traitor. 
The facts of his last mihtary operations are briefly these. 

On the evening of July 2d, 1849, as Gorgey's forces lay in their 
entrenched camps opposite Komorn, a deputation from the Hun- 
rjaiian government came, announcing that Meszaros was appointed 
commander-in-chief, and that Gorgey must obey him. Gorgey had 
that day fought one of his most bi-illiant battles, in which he him- 
self had displayed a heroic bravery, and had even been severely 
wounded. He returned for answer, in his laconic way, that 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 59 

" Henceforth lie should fight for his countiy uncontrolled by any- 
one." 

His only course now, as a General, was manifestly to unite his 
forces with the armies on the central plain of Hungary, and to act 
fi-om that as a centre, on the various isolated bodies of Austrians 
and Russians marching in. 

He waited, however, till it was too late, and then failed in a grand 
attempt to break through the Austrian lines on the south. 

The only other outlet \^ as through the Russian forces on the East. 
By some masterl}- manauvrcs, and after a sanguinary battle — the 
battle of Waizen — he succeeded in forcing his way through, and in 
retreating into the Carpathians. " During this battle," says Kos- 
suth, " General Perczel was only a few miles distant with 26,000 
men, and Gorgey neither wrote nor sent." 

After this, succeeded one of the most ably-conducted retreats on 
rocoi'd ; marches and counter-marches, climbing of mountains and 
threading difficult passes, sudden escapes, and as sudden tre- 
mendous attacks. 

Never had Gorgey shown a more brilliant genius. With enemies 
hemming him in on every side, he baffled them, turned their own 
positions, made his retreat a means of attack, and often overwhelmed 
tliem with assaults from the quarter in which they least expected 
them. 

Through it all, he shared all the fatigues of his soldiere — and 
seemed even to court death in the battle — wearing, as he had never 
been known to do before, his splendid General's uniform, in the 
very hottest of the fire, and fighting himself hand to hand. 

Twice during this masterly retreat, he could have united his 
army with the Hungarian army on the plain within the Theiss, and 
hav^'^ ^a\'od Hungary. Once at Gyongybs, where a few houi's 



60 SCENE IN GORGEY'S CAMP. 

marcli would have brought him to Hatvau, and to the victorious 
corps of Demhinski, numbering 20,000 men. And again at the 
Hernad^ where he commanded the only two passages of the Theiss 
— that at Tisza-fiired, and at Tokai. A union with the other armies 
at either of these points, would have annihilated the principal 
Eussian corps — and have extended the war some months longer. 
A delay of a month at that season, was a victory for the Hunga- 
rians. No foreigner can withstand the fatal Theiss-fevers, which 
prevail in those marehy plains in September. 

Gorgey wilfully neglected both these opportunities, and at length, 
crossed the Theiss, when it was too late to unite himself with the 
other Hungarian armies. 

Again at Debreczin, it only needed a short return upon his 
march, to have aided the heroic httle body under Nagy Sandor, 
making their stand against the whole Russian army — and, as most 
believe, to have utterly destroyed the Russian army from the 
North. 

One of Gorgey's officers has often described to me that scene, in 
the camps, when from only a short distance in their rear, there came 
up the booming of a great battle. Every one knew what the odds 
must be — Sandor with 8,000 — the Russians with 80,000. They 
knew too the Russian must have been held at bay. Without 
a word of command every hussar saddled and mounted; the 
regiments drew up in marching order ; the trumpetere flourished 
their trumpets, impatient for the signal — but no word came — 
Gorgey was quiet within his tent. Still the heavy booming came 
up on the wind, more incessant and angry — as if the little band 
of Hungarians were making their last desperate struggle. Finally, 
the impatient hussars could bear it no longer — they broke into the 
General's tent — and demanded the signal for advance. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 61 

Goi'gey came forth, as cold, and undisturbed as ever — and seeing 
the array, addressed them : 

" My children ! This is wrong. You have followed me long — 
do not disobey me now. I understand what is best. Trust to me. 
A General must not be commanded by his army. You will soon 
see that I have led you right. 

" Officers ! see that every soldier is ready for the march !" and 
he retired to his tent again. 

My friend says, that some of the old weather-beaten hussars 
wept — and others broke their swords — but all soon marched 
forward again, despondingly on the line of retreat — not yet doubt- 
ing their beloved General. 

A few days after, came the disgraceful surrender at Vilagos. 

What could have been the motives for all this ? There was no 
deliberate, long-sustained treachery in it, for traitors do not expose 
their lives in battle, or enter on such difficult and dangerous enter- 
prises, as this retreat, when betrayal would have been easier in 
the outset. 

To me, it all seems in consistency with Gorgey's character. He 
was unspeakably jealous of Kossuth ; he was angiy at the Gov- 
ernment for appointing another Commander-in-chief. And he 
would rather risk the Hungarian cause on his sole adventui'ous 
eftbrts, than see it conquer under others. "Whenever he should 
enter the plain of the Theiss, he loses his command. If Hungary 
conquered, it would be with Gorgey second. 

He prefeiTed defeat, or treacheiy to this. This may be the 
explanation of his fii-st movements. After he crossed the Theiss, he 
probably commenced negotiations at once with the Russians ; for 
with characteristic pride, he always said that he would rather 



62 HIS TREACHERY. 

fight till the death, than surrender to the Anstrians — the enemy, 
■whom he had conquered. 

At Debreczin, very probably, the negotiations had proceeded 
too far, to admit of his making an overwhelming attack on the 
Russians. 

Let the motives be what they may, I have no doubt he was 
false — basely and meanly false to his country. 

Whatever may be said of his early course, for his last act of 
unconditional surrender and betrayal at Vilagos, no excuse or 
palhation can be found. He could not have lost more, had he 
fought out the war, to the last inch of ground on the Hungarian 
Pusztas. All his faithful comrades who had stood by his side in 
many a hard-fought field, and had messed at his table, were left to 
the galloAvs or the axe. The brave soldiers who had followed him, 
through his long and weary retreat, with unshaken confidence and 
love, believing that " their Gorgey" would come out right at last, 
were abandoned to Austrian dungeons, or left to be drafted mto the 
" Imperial regiments." 

He saved nothing but his own miserable life. 

No man in Hungary believes that he did this act of malignant 
treachery for gold. It was all from his diabohcal pi-ide. 

His reward has been poor enough : a residence in a small town 
of Styria, under the inspection of Austrian spies : a narrow stipend 
from Government, and the howl of detestation and wrath following 
him from the whole Hungarian nation. He is said to be pm-suing 
his study of chemistry quietly in Klagenfurt, where probably he will 
die. The bitterest punishment for the proud man, the scoi-n and 
contempt of the world, has met him, and we may leave him to it. 

History will draw his course as a short one, but a strange one. 
A career, brilliant with a few strokes of magnificent genius, but 



'HUNGARY IN 185]. 63 

blackened by a satanic pride, and by one malignant act of gigantic 
treachery. 

To say that he is hated in Hungary, is to express feebly the 
feehngs of the nation toward him. The concentrated bitterness of 
the people, trodden into the very ground by the oppressor, is poured 
forth on the man to whom they intrusted all, and who betrayed 
them. 

I give one instance, in an occurrence which happened this Spring, 
in Klagenfurt, Two Honveds — common soldiers — were returning 
from the regiment, in Italy, in which they had been drafted, to their 
homes, on furlough. They had just pay enough to be able to reach 
Klagenfurt ; and there, were utterly at a loss what to do — in a 
strange town, stripped of everything, and without any means of 
raising money. Though it sorely offended their Ilungarian pride, 
they at last resolved to beg. One said that he could not begin ; 
and the other offered to commence, by trying in a coffee-house, near 
by. 

The very first gentleman whom he asked gave him several silver 
zwanzigers. Surprised at such overflowing generosity, he went out 
and showed his gains to his comrade, and told him to go in and 
try, for if he had as good luck, their begging would be at an end. 
The other went in, and came out soon, joyfully, with his zwanzigers. 
They were counting their gains, when a Kellner, (waiter) happening 
to stop out, asked them if they knew who it was, who had been so 
generous to them ? " No," they said, " we do not." " That is 
Oorgey, the Ilungarian General !"' 

Buth the soldiers rose up without saying a word, strode into the 
coffee-house, dashed the money on the table before Gorgey, 
" Scoundrel I rather die of hunger than take a kreutzer from you !" 
and then left the coffee-house. The aftair, however, wa^ soon noic-ri 



64 FEELINGS OF COMMON SOLDIERS TOWARDS HIM. 

about in the hotel, and a handsome j^urse was made up for the two 
beggared soldiers, with which they safely reached Hungary, where 
they told the occurrence. It*shows well what even the poorest 
Hungarian feels. 



CHAPTEK IX. 

My route from Pesth into the interior of the country, was, at 
first, by the raih'oad, to Szolnok, a town on the Theiss, and then 
afterwards by steamer on the Theiss, up into the great central plain 
of Hungary. 

This road, from Pesth to Szolnok, is the only hne of railroad East 
of the Capital, in a part of the land which, above all others, needs a 
railroad, and where it could be built most cheaply. It is only some 
sixty miles in length, but does a very fair business. The great curse 
and drawback upon the Hungarian trade or commerce, has always 
been the want of good roads. Fi'om Pesth to Debreczin, a town of 
55,000 inhabitants, to Gros'Wardein of perhaps 20,000, and to 
Szegedin, another large and important agricultural town, there is 
not a road which could be called, with us, even a moderately good 
highway. The road to Debreczin is, much of it, only a prairie 
track, with some half dozen different paths frequently, straggling 
about the plain. In the season in which I travelled these roads, 
afterwards, everything about them was very comfortable and pleas- 
ant. In fact, nothing can be more agreeable than riding over mea- 
dow-roads in the late Spring. But in the Autumn or Winter, when 
the rains come, all these pleasant fields become immense morasses, 



66 RAILROADS IN HUNGARY. 

the roads are cut with huge ruts, and filled -with holes, and it is 
said, it takes often as long to go from Grosswardein to Pesth, in that 
season, as from Pesth to Paris ! 

In a land whose population is nearly two-thirds that of the United 
States, with an area of some 100,000 square miles, there are not 
more than three or four regular hnes of stage coaches, and only 
some two thousand miles of roads ! I found, on inquiring in Pesth 
that I could not depend at all on public conveyances in the interior, 
but must ti'ust to chance, or the procuring a " Vorspann" as it is 
called — that is, a wagon with fom* hoi-ses, which the peasants are 
obliged, under certain circumstances, to furnish the traveller, for one 
"stage," or ten miles. 

However, as it proved, the imiversal courtesy and hospitality of 
the people saved me all trouble on that score, and I did not use a 
pubhc vehicle once after getting into the interior. 

The most important part of Hungary, where the densest popula- 
tion dwells, and where is the greatest wealth — Central Hungary — ^is 
admirably adapted for railroads — universally level, wth tracts of 
firm gi'ound, and easy to be connected with all other important 
points of the country. Stone might be brought without any vast 
difficulty, down the Theiss, fi'ora the mountainous regions, and the 
very considerable trade ami ti'avcl between the Capital and all this 
region, would insure business enough. Before the Revolution, the 
whole nation had become aroused to the importance of this matter. 
One road was built to Szolnok, and the hne surveyed, beyond, to 
Debreczin, Grosswardein, and planned even to Klausenhurg, in the 
mountainous Siebenbiirgen, fi-om whence it was hoj^ed it might 
connect, ultimately, with Constantinople, and bring with it the whole 
trade of the East to Europe. A branch Une, too, was laid out 
through Kecskemet to Szegedin, and another, on the north, to con- 



HUNGARY IN 1S51. 67 

nect Debreczin -vvitli the region of the precious Tokay wine, and 
perhaps with the rich mining region in the Carpathians, Another 
very important hne was much discussed, which should connect 
Pesth, on the south, with Fiume and the harbors on the Adriatic, 
and thus, at length, open the long-hemmed-in commerce of Hungaiy 
to the world. 

The storm of the Revolution, however, swept away everything — 
and not one of these lines, except that to Szolnok, was even com- 
menced. Since the war the Austrian Government has done a little 
at them, but very little. There is a great deal of talk in Europe 
about the practical improvements the Austrian Administration is 
introducing in Hungary — which improvements, in my opinion, are 
very generally humbugs. It is true, they are repairing fortifications 
everywhere, and " improving " everything which can be used in 
enslaving the people. It is also true that they are constructing a 
highway from Szolnok to Grosswardein and Klausenburg, and are 
working on the railroad to Szegedin. But the first two of these 
towns are the central military stations of the Austrian army in 
Hungary, and Szegedin is filled with the most independent "insur- 
rectionary " population of the country. The great object is, un- 
doubtedly, to have the means of transporting forces rapidly to any 
point in the land, where a rebellion may arise. 

I found no " improvements " going on out of the military routes. 
And it should be remembei'ed that even these public works demand 
no great self-denial from the Austrian Government, the means being 
wrung from the impoverished people, and the work forced from the 
peasantry, in as extortionate a manner as ever the old feudal exac- 
tion of the '■'■Robot'''' was. 

The neglect in former times of these means of communication, 
there is no doubt, has been of infinite evil to the land. From this 



08 EVILS FROM THE WANT OF GOOD ROADS. 

defect, Hungary, a land rich enough in grain to supply all Europe, 
willi all the best products of a temperate chmate, with countless 
herds of cattle, with wines superior in purity and flavor even to 
those of Spain and France, with valuable mines, and above all, a 
vigorous, industrious population, has never yet had a foreign trade 
of any importance whatever. Her harbors on the Adriatic are shut 
off from the interior, her valleys in the north are separated from the 
Capital. The overflowing harvests of the central plains will scarcely 
pay the freight to the borders. 

Such was the difiiculty of communication and the Uttle enter- 
prise in consequence, a few years ago, that it proved cheaper, when 
the suspension bridge at Pesth was built, to bring the ii"on from 
England and carry it over land to the city, than to obtain it from 
the iron mines of North Hungary, tliough these fm-nish the best iron 
in Em'ope. 

The whole value of the exports of Hungary, of every article, 
raw and manufactured, in 1845, did not amount to $35,000,000 
and in 1847 did not probably exceed |37,000,000. 

The fault of this most injurious neglect seems to lie on several 
sides ; but, fij'st and foremost, on the shoulders of the Austrian Gov- 
ernment. They never wanted any " improvements " which might 
make Fiume a rival to Trieste ; and then* great object in all their 
legislation was to " keep Hungaiy down." The Austrians talk a 
great deal of " the fatherly care " of the Government over Hun- 
gary in former years ; but it is evident at a glance that it is a care 
which is altogether devoted to one side of the family. For instance, 
in the export of Hungarian wine, the paternal regulation made it 
necessary to pay 2 florins, 4 kreutzers, (or 124 kreutzers) on the 
Miner ; but on the import of Austrian only 27 kreutzers — that is, 
not one-fourth as much. Or again, on cloth, the Austrian import 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 69 

into Hungary paid a duty of 5| florins ; the Hungarian export 8| 
florins for the Zentner. Many of the Hungarian exports paid an 
ezport duty of 60 per. cent., and nearly all imports were burdened 
with a duty as great. Carpenter's work, for instance, exported, paid 
100 per cent., and the export of wrought ii'on was altogether forbid- 
den. The same principle was carried out in all matters of internal 

t 
improvements — encourage all which can aid Austria, discourage 

everything else. 

Besides, it should be borne in mind, Hungary is a country where 
it would be very difficult to build roads, except by some aid of the 
State. There is no wood or stone, scarcely, in Central Hungary, and 
the building a highway, is a matter of no small expense. It was the 
great principle, too, of the Hungarian Constitution that every little 
town, district, county, [Co7nitat,) should have its own municipal 
government, and manage its own affairs. It was veiy unusual for 
the Central Government to interfere, and natm-ally great enterprises, 
demanding much capital, were neglected. However, with all this, 
very much of the blame lay also on the old Hungarian Feudal Con- 
stitution. 

A system under which one class must build the roads which ano- 
ther class used, and under which the men who could most afford to 
ride, were never obhged to pay toll, could never expect any great 
progi'ess in " the improvements of highways and bridges." I am 
aware, that in the last twenty years, these exactions on the Bauer 
were much changed, and that the nobleman had his own taxes — ■ 
heavy enough — which he must pay. But still no candid man can 
avoid confessing, that such an inequality as the above, must have 
its natural ill effects on the country. 

The country through which the railroad passes from Pesth to 
Szolnok, is remarkably pleasant ; much more diversified than the 



70 A TRUE HUNGARIAN VILLAGE. 

land east of the Theiss, and with fine groves, which one seldom sees 
on the other side of Szoluok. Everywhere, as far as the eye could 
reach, it was green with rich fields of wheat, or with long rows of 
vines — g'iving the impression, which even the peasants always seem 
to feel, with pride, about their Fatherland, that it is a rich and fruit- 
ful country, with abundance of " corn and wine." 

Szolnok itself is a genuine Hungarian village, forming a singular 
contrast to the modern European Pesth. It always has seemed to 
me, in walking through these Hungarian villages, as if one could 
see in them, as in a thousand other things in the land, the signs of 
their Oriental, nomadic origin. The houses seemed placed exactly 
as a company of Huns or Tartars might have pitched their tents. 
Each house, in the most populous village, separate, with its yard 
and trees about it, and bearing no particular relation in its position 
to any other house. In consequence, the streets wind about in the 
most entangling manner. 

Every house, too, not much higher than a tent, never more than 
one story, though, of com'se, much longer than our village-houses, 
to give room for the inmates. The consequence is, that their vil- 
lages occupy an area some four times the extent which our own do, 
with the same population. The town of Debreczin, with 55,000 
inhabitants, and much more city-like than the most of the interior 
towns, is spread around over a space of gi-ound gi'eater than that of 
Boston, with its 136,000 inhabitants. In a Hungarian village, 
there is no grass or shrubbery in the streets, and the spectacle, 
wherever a broad street occurs, is of a wide tract of bare ground, 
with high wicker-worh fences on each side, behind which are a row 
of low, white, neatly kept houses, with their trees and shrubbery 
around them. In wet weather, the vista is varied, by the streets 
forming one immense mud-hole, fi'om one end to the other. 



HUAGARY IN 1851. 71 

SzoLNOK, April, 1851. — Have just been walking aoout through 
these entangling streets, or rather tracks, among the houses. The 
fences all along are either woven together with reeds (from the 
Theiss) or are made by merely joining these reeds together. Occa- 
sionally they are mud walls, painted white, like the fences in Ireland. 
Everything shows the great want under which the country suffers 
of wood and stone. The houses are built of blocks of mud, and 
plastered and white-washed. There is not a stone building, and 
scarcely a wooden building or fence in the whole village. The 
streets, on the whole, have a bare appearance, but the acacias every- 
where behind the hedges, give a pleasant, rural aspect to the houses, 
and fiU the air now with fragrance. One is disappointed with the 
looks of the village. The houses are neat enough, but nothing 
seems comfortable or tasteful. It is a village of Baiiern (peasants), 
and I was quite curious to see how their houses would appear 
externally. Still, however, I may have been disappointed about the 
looks of the dwellings, I have not been at all in those of the men. 
It is my flist sight of the Hungarian Bauer^ and all I can say is, 
that if all this " oppressed race" look like those men here, they have 
thrived very well under their slavery. 

It seems to be some sort of a market day, and there are great 
numbers of them gathered in the square before my lodgings. Each 
man wears a broad-brimmed black hat, and a sheep-skin, with the 
wool out-side, which he folds around him somewhat as the old 
Romans did their toga. There is scarcely one among them who is 
not six feet high ; and all with well-proportioned, muscular frames, 
as far as one can judge, under theii" sheep-skins. They stride by, as 
erect and stately, as one can imagine the old Indian chiefs to have 
done in the d."ys of their power. There is something almost Indian- 
like in theii- a[ipearauce — their long, lank, black hair — their swarthy 



72 APPEARANCE OF THE PEASANT WOMEN. 

comj)lexion — and thin faces, -with their powerful bodies. Some« 
wear tanned skins, embroidered very much hke the Indian robes. 

In fact, I have not seen a finer-looking set of men in Europe than 
these peasants gathered out in the market-place here. Every man 
seems a soldier. 

The women are a brown, healthy-looking set, but short, stocky — ■ 
not by any means so handsome as the men. They all wear little 
jackets of tanned leather, (the Tcbdmony) prettily embroidered, and 
short di'esses, with high boots of red leather under them — making 
altogether a rather original appearance, according to our ideas of 
female apparel. They are engaged in doing all the market business, 
and are chafTering most busily — the men looking on in a dignified 
way, or lying, in real Oriental manner, dreaming and enjoying the 
warm spring sun-fight. Occasionally, a village squire comes by, 
and they all touch their hats to him, though not by any means in a 
slavish manner. They look and act like an independent, sturdy set 
of men. 

Beside its interest as a specimen ot the Hungai-ian villages, 
Szolnok is also worth visiting by the traveller for its reminiscences 
connected with the last war. 

It may be remembered that in the winter of 1848-49, the 
Hungarian army had withdrawn itself to the central plains behind 
the Theiss, making that river the cover of the front of their position. 
Of course, all the bi'idges or fords would be of gi-eat importance. 
Of the four bridges for four hundred miles, one is at Szolnok, and at 
this point were some of the hardest contested battles. The plan of 
the attack in the. spring of 1849 — said to have been drawn by 
Vetter and Dembinski — was very skillful indeed. The main 
principle of it was, to neglect the Capital, as of no importance in a 
strategical point of view, aad to centre their forces at the angle of 



'HUNGARY IN 1851. 73 

the Danube, near Waizen, and thus cut off the Austrian hne of 
communication and reUeve Komorn. To effect this, a feigned attack 
must be made near Pesth, in order to concentrate the main body of 
the Austrians there, and call off their attention from the attack 
above. The Hungarians fought at much advantage, acting from a 
centre — " the Hungarian plain" — on a wide line of enemies around 
them. The whole proved even more successful than was anticipated. 
The feigned attack toward Pesth, made at first in Szolnok, drove 
the enemy back with immense slaughter — the Hungarian Genei'al 
having crossed the river in the mists below, and falling on the 
Austrian army on its flank — and finally from all the neighborhood, 
the enemy's forces were driven back into Pesth, where Prince 
Windischgratz took his stand, patiently awaiting a combined attack 
from the whole Hungarian army. He was only undeceived by 
hearing of Gorgey's victorious progress on the hne of his communica- 
tion northward ; and the only step left for him was to evacuate 
Pesth as rapidly as possible. We all know the result — that the 
Imperial forces were utterly beaten out of Hungary — and that, if 
Go)-gey had followed them up, as he should, they would have been 
annihilated, and probably Vienna itself taken. Besides this battle 
at Szolnok, in March, there was another previously, wherein Perczel, 
by a similar manceuvre of crossing the Theiss on the ice, had utterly 
defeated a large corps of Austrians posted near the bridge. The 
town is said to have suffered much in these hotly-contested struggles' 
It must have been speedily repaired, however, as I could see very 
few mai'ks of the injury on the houses. 



CHAPTER X. 

The Theiss. 

After a short time spent in Szolnok, I started in a neat little 
steamboat up the Theiss. These steamei-s, as well as those on the 
Danube, belong to the Company of the " Austrian Lloyd," and have 
only been running a few years. It is said, however, that the 
Government are just on the point of taking them forcibly into their 
own hands, not wishing to have the interior communications of 
Hungary, in the power of any one excej)t Austrian officers. 

The Theiss is the peculiar, almost sacred, river of the Nation. It 
enriches, in part, the land of the original, genuine Hungai-ians. The 
people on the Eastern side of it, on those wide plains, are the 
strength, the sinew of the countiy. It is from among them that 
the best of Hungrry have come — her statesmen and orators and 
soldiere. It was from the indomitable peasantry of this district, that 
the Austrian and Russian armies met with their stoutest resistance. 
Within these plains, as I have said before, all the wide-spread forces 
of the Hungarians withdi-ew themselves, to fight from them as a 
centre, against the vast circle of the enemy. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 75 

The Theiss, witli its immense swamps, beside, as it were, guarding 
this country, is exceedingly important for its trade. The wood and 
stone from the mountains on the North can be brought down to the 
StepxJGs southerly, destitute of them. The rich wines of Tokay and 
the hills around can be shipped to Szolnok, and so, without difficulty, 
to Pesth and Germany. On the South, too, that garden of Hungary^ 
the Banat, can transmit its grain and fruits to Szegedin, and thus 
upward, by this river, to the Danube and the capital. It is the 
channel, indeed, for the immense produce of Central Hungary, in 
wheat and Indian corn and wine, to find its way out. The great 
difficulty is m the nature of the river itself. I give an extract here 
from my " Notes," as showing something of this : 

" We are working our way up the Theiss, and despite the engine's 
being a somewhat powerful one, it is very slow work. The current i? 
exceedingly rapid, and for windings and turns and crooked channels, 
I do not think any river ever began to equal this of the Theiss. 
It is said there is one spot where the distance has been measured, 
as seventy miles by land, and over two hundi'ed by water ! We 
find ourselves occasionally with the bows pointed directly to the 
opposite point of the compass from what they were ten minutes 
before. 

" The stream is exposed to great floods, and with the low banks, 
the watere will frequently be five miles from one side to the other, 
they tell me. The spring floods are hardly over now, and we passed 
through wide tracks of water, where it was very difficult to find the 
channel. Add to this that it becomes very dry often in summer, 
and one can get an idea how many hindrances there are to its 
navigation. We passed, in one place through a canal made between 
two bends of the stream, which saved a long distance. These 
canals occur very often on the Theiss, and ai-e made simply by 



76 TALK WITH A HUNGARIAN FARMER. 

'iigging a little opening at one of the turns of the stream, then by 
oosening the ground here and there on the line of the canal in 
Bpring, when the ice comes down in the floods, the current opens 
the canal at once. Very much has been done, both by the Hun- 
garian Government and by individuals, for the regulating the Theiss 
and for the draining the immense marshes on its banks. 

Some of the most valuable estates in Hungary have been re- 
covered in this way from the swamps. Still there is enough left to 
be done. 

On the Theiss, April, 1851. — Our journey up the Theiss con- 
tinued through very much the same scenery as that near Szolnok. 
Banks fringed with willow bushes, vast swamps filled with flocks of 
water fowl, and the peculiar prairies, or Pusztas of Central Hungary, 
stretching as far as the eye could reach, were the only objects to 
vary the view. Occasionally, immense herds of horees or of white 
cattle could be seen on the banks ; or the low white houses of a 
Hungarian village ; but, throughout, the whole left an impression of 
solitude, of monotony, though of grandeur also, upon the mind. 
Tired, at length, of a scene so unvarying and almost desolate, I went 
forward to see what company we had on the fore-deck. There were 
a few common Austrian soldiei-s there, and several peasants stretched 
out asleep on the deck in their sheep-skins, and one or two standing 
about. As I was watching them — their bronzed, strongly-marked 
faces, and long black hair streaming over the flooring as they slept — 
a full, friendly voice near me, asked " Where I thought the poor 
creatures were going ?" I turned and saw a stout, hearty-looking 
man, with something of a farmer's dress. " I had no idea," I told 
him — " perhaps to get work in the mountains." " Perhaps so," said 
he — " and perhaps to emigrate to another part of the land. A great 
many go up the Theiss for that ; but, it's a hard thing for a working- 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 77 

man to begin life all over, in a new place. I wonder what they are 
hoping and wishing for ?" 

There was something so friendly and pleasant in the man's voice 
that I could not avoid getting at once into conversation with him. 
I asked him soon whether the Bauer (peasants) in that part of Hun- 
gary, were at all hard-pressed to get along comfortably. 

" No," he said, " the Hungarian peasants everywhere live well. 
They work hard, but they get the best for their work. Then their 
wants are very few indeed." 

I inquired how the freedom from the Robot had worked there. 
This Robot, by the way, is the old feudal exaction on the peasants, 
by which they must work a certain number of days for their mas- 
ters in return for occupying his land — one of the greatest burdens 
and grievances of the old Constitution of Hungary. I will detail the 
particulars more hereafter. 

In reply he said, that the fii-st effect now was very bad for the 
masters or the land-holders. " The peasants will not work at all, 
except for themselves. The Robot they looked on as an old duty 
laid by the government on them, and they would work faithfully 
imder it. It was somethiug public — established by the laws. But 
now, to work for wages — and when Kossuth had made them inde- 
pendent land-holders — how could they ? Beside, the peasant says, 
' Why should I be working for others ? Here I have my httle farm, 
I can raise wheat enough- for winter, and wine more than I can pos- 
silily use, and I have hogs enough for all the Speck (pork fat) I shall 
want during the year, what is the need of working P 

" The fact is, they want very httle, these peasants. Their sheep- 
skin, which is their only cloak or coat, will last them summer and 
winter, eight or ten years. Give them their pork-fat, and bread, and 
wine, and tobacco, which they themselves grow, and they -will ask 



78 FEELING OF THE PEASANTS TOWARDS KOSSUTH. 

for nothing else. Perhaps, after a while, when they find they can 
get more, they will begin to want more ; but now it is not so." 

I found I had stumbled on a very intelligent man, and I followed 
up the conversation eagerly. It appeared soon, my companion was 
a small farmer from the neighborhood of Szolnok, and in the course 
of the conversation I asked what was the feeling of the Bauer in 
that section toward Kossuth. I wish I could in any way give the 
full, rich, eloquent tones in which he replied. 

He said I could not imagine the devotion, the love of the people 
to him ; in his exile and disgrace they remember him with prayere 
and tears. The poor creatures, some of them, think he was inspired 
from Heaven, and they talk of him as if he was their praphet, when 
they meet ; and they believe he is coming with the Spring, under 
the earth, to free the land ! They pray for him in their houses, and 
though his picture is forbidden, most of them have it concealed. 
" He is almost worshipped." 

I had not at all, at that time, expected to find Kossuth's name so 
loved among the peasantry, and I expressed to him my astonish- 
ment, and asked him how he explained such a passionate attach- 
ment. 

He said he thought it was partly from the wonderful eloquence 
of the man, " and then," said he, " every peasant remembers what 
Kossuth's Government gave them. Under that, for the first time, 
the Bauer could choose their own rulere. They had elections for 
their judges and Burgermeister. They could vote for their Eepre 
sentatives to Parliament. To be sure, some of them had had these 
rights before ; but the majority had never possessed any share in 
the elections for the National Assembly. Then, under Kossuth, they 
began, for the first time, to be independent, free landholders. They 
knew how long he and his party had been striving to make men of 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 79 

them, and when, at length, he succeeded, of course they were grate- 
ful. But it was Kossuth's sympathy with them — Kossuth's elo- 
quence, as he spoke of freedom and the wrongs of Hungary — which 
helped all this influence." 

" But why," said I, " do they not ascribe something of their pre' 
sent freedom to the Austrian Government ? You know the Empe- 
ror also decreed, in the course of the war, the manumission of the 
serfs." 

" Perhaps," said he, " the Government officers might have made 
them believe that, if they had been shrewd enough. But instead, 
they have taken away everything which the Bauer had under the 
Hungarian Ministry. In place of its being allowed them to elect 
their own magistrates, the pettiest to-wn-clerk is appointed by the 
Austrian Military Board. All the chief officers of a tovi'n are either 
foreignere, or appointed from men whom they despise. They have 
no voice or hand in the matter. The taxes too are heavier and 
more vexatious, than ever the old Robot was. Then, there are a 
thousand little annoyances, which remind them continually, they are 
not at all under a government which would make them freer. They 
cannot shoot even a crow — without an ' order ' fi-om government. 
They must have a Passe to go to the next village ; soldiers are all 
the time watching them — or interrupting them. Every Hungarian 
too," said he, " has always, from time immemorial, had the privilege 
of grainbllng^ to any extent he desired. Now, at a word against 
the government, he has the gens cParmes after him. The truth i^ 
the Austrian Government has gained nothing among the peasantry. 
It might, perhaps, have won them — but it has lost them, now, 
utterly." 

He had spoken thus far, with so much moderation, and in such 
good German, that I had nearly concluded he must be one of the 



80 FARTHER CONVERSATION WITH THE FARMER. 

German farmers, who I knew were settled near Szolnok, thougli 
there was a richness of tone and a kind of natural eloquence in his 
voice, such as one seldom hears except from Hungarians. I asked 
him, accordingly, " if he was a German ?" He started back, almost 
as if insulted. 

" l^o, I am a Hungarian — Hungarian, body and soul ! And all 
the more, now that my country is in its time of misfortune !" 

I told him I was a stranger, and asked what the sentiment 
of the country was, since the Revolution, under the new GoveiTi- 
ment ?. 

" Sir," said he, " we have lost all — our Constitution is gone — the 
rights of eight hundred years swept away at once. We are now 
slaves, and nothing else. Spies watch us evei-ywhere. We cannot 
speak or act, or think free ; and no man is safe. The emissaries of 
the Government are everywhere !" 

" But how do you dare," said I, " talk in this way to a stran- 
ger ? There may be spies about us — or I myself may be a German 
spy." 

" We cannH help it,''^ said he, " we Hungarians have always 
talked as we wished. Wir sincl so gewbhnt ! We are used to it. 
If we were to go to the gaUows to-morrow, we should still talk. It's 
our natiu-e. They may crush us, as they can, but we must have the 
liberty of speech !" 

I had observed before this, on board the steamer, a great quan- 
tity of farming machines — new model plows, thi-eshing-machines, the 
latest inventions for sowing and harrowing, &c., and I asked him 
whether those were in general use in the land. He said they were, 
and especially since the Revolution. The gentry found it so difficult 
to hire laborers, that they were everywhere introducing machine 
work. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 81 

After some further very pleasant conversation with the man, who 
was a remarkably intelligent specimen of the Hungarian farmers, I 
went aft to the company on the other deck. I remember that I 
noted down at the time, that the most elegant part of the passen- 
gers on the boat did not by any means best represent Hungary. If 
these were the examples of the gentlemen of Hungary, I was very 
much disappointed. They looked much more like the '•''fast men^'' 
or the dandies one sees in Broadway and Hyde Park, than the 
manly, intelligent gentlemen I had expected to meet. It is curious 
proof of the instinct one acquires of chai-acter, in this contact with 
so many classes of men, that I afterward learned that these men, 
though belonging to the highest nobility of Hungary, were nearly 
all of that party of the Magnates who have always done least credit 
to their country. Men of immense M'ealth, but despising then- peo- 
ple, and squandering their fortunes at the Court of Vienna, or in 
Paris. They took no part in the Revolution, and never cared any- 
thing for Hungary, except for the rents they could squeeze from 
their tenants, and the " studs " they could collect on their estates. 
They have before this been satisfied with the smiles of the Court, 
but now, when everything Hungarian meets with " the cold shoul- 
der " at Vienna, they have come back to Hungary quite as discon- 
tented as the rest of their countiymen. It is such privileged drones 
as these that are always the weight upon any country. They meet 
with little respect in Hungary ; and, even with all their wealth, have 
a very slight influence indeed over the people. 

As it happened, we did not reach the landing-place where I was 
to stop till about midnight. After I had stepped ashore I found 
thire was no iun there, and I began to think I had brought myself 
into a somewhat unpleasant predicament, when, luckily, I found on 

the landing, one of the gentlemen to whom I had letters. As soon 
4* 



82 ARRIVAL AT MY FRIEND'S HOUSE. 

as lie heard who I was, he said at onco, " I must come directly to 
his house." " No Hungarian," said he, " ever allows his guest to go 
to an inn — and, besides, there is no inn here for several miles.'' 
Accordingly, I was soon established in one of the long, spacious 
rooms of a genuine Hungarian country house, discussing a hearty 
lunch — and not long after, slumbering away soundly, the fatigues 
of the day. 



CHAPTEE XI. 

S , Near the Theiss — Inner Hungary. 

April, 1851, 

We have been walking through every part of the village, and 
jailing on very many people, and examining farms and favming, 
altogether in a veiy interesting way. The village is even more 
completely like a collection of tents pitched at random, here and 
there, than Szolnok. The streets form almost a labyrinth of tracks. 
Every house is of one story, white-washed, and with a little piazza 
upheld by short, thick columns. The roofs are are all thatched with 
a covering, nearly a foot and a half thick, from the reeds of the 
Theiss. These reeds (Rbhre) are in universal use here for hedges, 
baskets, wicker-work in the wagons, matting, &c., &c. There is 
scarcelj'^ any stone or wood used in the village, and the fences are 
of these reeds, or occasionally of willow twigs, plaited together. The 
liouses, as in Szolnok, are built of square blocks of mud. Before 
every house there is a long-bodied, shaggy, white dog, with a small 
pointed head, very much resembling, on the whole, a white bear. 
A peculiarly unpleasant animal he is too, to a ti'aveller, without a 
walking-stick, as he has a way of di\ang right out at one's legs,- 
without ceremony or warning. It is a breed peculiar to the country 
entirely, I am happy to say. 



84 HOSPITALITY. 

. It is evident I am getting among tlie genuine Hungarian popula- 
tion — and a very diflFerent people they are from any I have ever 
seen. We vrould not call them very highly cultivated, but one sees 
at once there is a remarkably quick, practical intelligence in them, 
•which promises as much for the nation as a more elaborate educa- 
tion. They come before you at once as a "j^eopZe of nature''' — as 
men bred up in a generous, vigorous, natural life — without the tricks 
of civilization, but with a courtesy, a dignity, and hospitality which 
one might imagine the old Oriental patriarchs would have shown in 
their day. 

At the gentleman's where I am visiting, friends come in, take a 
bed in the large ground-floor room, and spend the night, apparently 
without the least ceremony. The tables are heaped to overflowing 
at every meal, and people seem to enter and join in the party with- 
out any kind of invitation, as if the gentleman kept " open house." 
Wherever we visit, it appears almost to be thought an unfriendUness 
in us if we do not drink of the dehcious vsines they bring out to us, 
and I can only escape by pleading the poverty of our country in 
wines, and our not being in the habit of drinking much. 

Besides this generous hospitality, one is struck at once with a 
certain heartiness and manliness, in almost every one. They all 
speak of Hungary, and with the deepest feeling — but no one whines. 
Every one seems gloomy at the misfortune and oppression through 
their beloved land, — ^but no one is at all crushed in spirit. If this is 
a specimen of the nation, they are not in the least broken by their 
defeat. 

The whole efiect of the com-tesy and manly bearing of the people, 
.too, is extremely increased by their fine personal appearance. I 
have never seen so many handsome men in my hfe, it seems to me. 

In fact, one gets some idea here what the human frame was 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 85 

intended by nature to be. Every man tall — in frame not brawny j 
but with full chest, and compact, well-knit joints — hmbs not large, 
but exceedingly well proportioned, and a gait the most easy and 
flexible which can be imagined. The type of the race, I believe, ia 
not a great stature. These men here, however, made me, though 
not at all under average height, feel quite like a pigmy. 

Their whole proportions are exceeding well set off by the Hun- 
garian costume, which many of them still wear in part, though it is 
contrary to law to do so. This, as one sees it stiU in Hungary 
among the gentlemen, is a tight-fitting, half-mihtary frock-coat, 
buttoned up to the chin, and breeches fitting close to the leg, with 
high pohshed boots and spurs. The cloak {dolmdny) which used 
to be the most graceful part of the dress, as it was handsomely em- 
broidered, and hung fi-om one shoulder by a tasseled cord, is 
altogether forbidden. However, the costume, as it is worn now, 
is remarkably tasteful. Add to all this, fine-cut, regular features, 
jet black hair, usually, and flovnng beai'd and carefully trained 
moustache, and you have among these men as fine specimens of 
manly beauty as can be seen in the world. 

The women, as I remarked among the Bauer, do not seem by 
any means to equal the men in this respect, at least in the eyes of 
an American. 

The Hungarians are quite proud of this pecuHarity of their race, 
and though not at all a fiivolous people, they do take a real oriental 
delight in rich and graceful costume, or whatever sets off their 
Iiandsome proportions. This consciousness of the strength and 
beauty of the race seems to enter as one element into that very pecu- 
liar attachment, or pride, they all show in regard to their country 
and nation. 

A Protestant clergyman whom I afterwards met, who had served 



86 UJHAZY. 

in the ranks in the Ptevolution. told me, in illustration of this, that 
he entered Klausenburg in the course of the war, banner in hand, 
at the head of a large force of recruits, just drawn from the Hun- 
garian Plains. They were as fine-looking a set of men, he said, as 
ever served in the ranks, mostly BoMer, tall, vigorous fellows, accus 
tomed to work and exposure from childhood. As they entered the 
town, banners flying, file after file of strong men, marching on erect 
and proud in their enthusiasm for the struggle, an old hussar hap- 
pened to be at the gate, and rode aside to make way for them, but 
at sight of this new addition of the prime of the Hungarian man- 
hood, he turned, stopped, took off his helmet, and with his hands 
stretched out over them, and the tears running down his weather- 
beaten face, said, " God bless you, my children ! You are worthy 
of the Hungarian Fatherland ! One sees you have not been fed on 
bran /" My companion said he went out of the ranks, and shook 
the old soldier by the hand as they passed. 

Everywhere, that I then went among the Hungarians, I would 
hear the most anxious, continual questioning about the Hungarian 
emigrants in America and Europe. I was at that time in the neigh- 
borhood of the former residence of UjhazT/, a man so well known 
in America, and I heard much of him. And I may be permitted 
to say, that every account was most favorable, even remarkably so. 
He had been a man of great wealth, owning wide lands, and an 
Oberr/espan (or Vicegespan) of a Comitate — a plac^ like that of a 
]Juke in England, or of a Governor of a great State with us — they 
said yet, a man always remarkable in Hungary for the extreme sim- 
plicity of his life and ma,nners. He was a famous " Wirih^'' or 
farmer and economist, and his estates were among the best managed 
in the land. On his farm, in the district near Tokay, he had drained 
lands, introduced improvements, erected schools, and really helped 



HUNGARY TN ISSi; 87 

on the whole neighborhood in a most efficient manner. They said, 
it seemed almost a Pro\adence that he was one of the few wealthy- 
gentlemen of Hungary who always worked with his own hands. 
Even when he was an acting*' member of the Parliament, and in one 
of the prominent offices of the nation, he might be seen, with his 
family, doing merely servant's work, drawing water and laboring; 
about the house. He was a thorough Republican and had joined 
heart and soul in the Revolution, and had lost his all in it, not sav- 
ing a penny, it was thought. 

We Americans have no cause to be ashamed of our treatment of 
the Hungarians, but it may be worth while to remember more 
who these emigrants were at home, and how their country regards 
them. 

If any one will imagine in our War of Independence, that the 
English had conquered ; if they will picture to themselves, that all 
the best and bravest in our country — the oratore, and soldiei's, and 
statesmen, Adams, and Lee, and Hamilton, and Hancock, and 
Washing-ton, and Frankhn, and a hundred others were suddenly 
driven abroad into France or Italy ; if they will still further imagine 
that these men had been mostly gentlemen of fortune, unaccus- 
tomed to work with their own hands, and that they were now placed, 
almost beggared, in a foreign land ; they will get some idea of the 
feelings of the exiles in their new homes, and of the sentiments of 
Hungaiy towards them. 

It needs not to be said here, that the Hungarians have borne 
themselves in a manly way in their disasters. I have heard it my- 
self, fi'om a leader on the Conservative benches in the English House 
of Commons, " that whatever might be the opinion of the Hunga- 
rian Cause, no man could avoid respecting the manly bearing of 



88 THE MEMORY OF THE EXILES. 

the exiles in their misfortunes !" No man qiiestions it, I believe, in 
America, 

Still, it will be a consolation to them to know — what, perhaps 
they need not to be told — that they are remembered with undimin- 
ished affection in their country. Their exile, and poverty, and suf- 
fering, have only deepened the love of then* countrymen for them. 
Their names are remembered at the fire-side prayer, — in the lonely 
cottage on the Puszta, in the cells and dungeons of Austrian prisons, 
in the hovel of the Hungarian peasant. The first question asked of 
the stranger is, if he has known them, or met them. 

" Tell them," said their countrymen to me — even those slowly 
dying imder Austrian bondage — " not to forget then* Fatherland, 
and their Fatherland will not forget them !" 

Yeai-s may pass away — the stamp of Austrian tyranny may be 
indelibly imprinted on the gallant nation — but neither Time, nor the 
slow giinding of Slavery, nor the pains and misfortunes surely com- 
ing, will wear away from the hearts of then' countiymen the mem- 
ory of these — the first Sufferers for Hungary. 



CHAPTEE XII. 

S , Inner HuNaARY — Near the Theiss. 

" Well ! Are you ready for a ride on the Puszta P said a sun- 
burned, hearty-looking Hungai'ian, as I stepped from the door of my 
fiiend's house the next day. 

It was a clear, sunny spring afternoon, and though I had designed 
to stay longer in the \nllage, where I was visiting, I could not resist 
the temptation to see a Hungarian prairie, and afterwards something' 
of Hungarian farming. So I accepted the offer as heartily as 
it was made, and proceeded to make myself ready for, perhaps a 
rough ride. 

" I am glad," said he, as I climbed into the wagon, " you have 
your cap on — we call those black hats, gut-gesinnte (well-disposed), 
that is, Austrian hats, and no one in Hungary wears them !" 

I saw he had his gun with him, and asked him if he expected to 
find game. " Yes," he said, " there was some very good shooting 
on the prairies, and we might see ducks in the lakes along the road. 
But look !" said he, holding up a paper, " what a free Hungai-ian 
must have if he would even shoot a sparrow !" I took the paper 
and saw that it was a permission from government to carry a 



90 THE POLICE-RULE. 

fowling-piece ! It appeared that every gun and pistol through the 
whole country had been obliged to be given up, and that every one 
found with such weapons was liable to imprisonment for several 
months. After this, the only mode of even procuring fowling-pieces 
was to apply for a " hcense," which, however, was not given to every 
one. " But beside this," said he, " even to go to the next village, I 
must have a pass^iort — and before these two last years such a thing 
was never known in Hungary. A man could go from one end of 
the land to the other, and no one asked him where he was going, or 
what place he came from. And for an independent man to be 
so hampered and hedged in ! It shows us what our slavery is !" 

In fact, no words can describe the discontent and bitterness of the 
Hungarians, under these petty restrictions of the Austrian police. 
It is hke putting one of our free, sturdy western " boys" into a 
Russian camp, where every step must be measured, and " permission'" 
given for every word and movement. The Hungarian had always been 
used to a free, careless life, in which he could move and talk, as he 
wished. His nature is an open and generous one, and he has been 
accustomed from time immemorial, to a " Constitutional Govern- 
ment," under which he could abuse the administration as he wished. 
It is a necessity of his being to " talk politics ;" and his ill-humor 
blows itself oil in real hearty grumbling. But now, to be under a 
system where a muttered curse is at once reported as a sign 
of a conspiracy, where a word said against an ofBce-holder will 
send him to a fortress, and where every step is dogged or watched r 
is unspeakably annoying to him. It hems him in ; it presses him , 
it suffocates him — and he cannH be prudent and is continually 
getting himself into trouble. However, to our ride again. 

After some conversation on such topics as the above, my com- 
panion gave the signal, our friends standing by took off their hats 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 9] 

according to tlie iinivereal national custom at parting ; the drive)- 
cracked his long-lashed whip, and we rattled away from the village 
in a genuine Hungarian " turn out." It may be interesting to my 
readers in America, to know what such a vehicle is. The wagon is of 
wicker, and the seats a huge bundle of hay, covered with cloaks and 
blankets. The traces and something of the tackle are of ropes, and 
the driver, wi'apped in a shaggy sheep-skin, sits forward upon another 
bundle of hay. In fact, the whole has rather a rough and " seedy" 
appearance. But, if the vehicle seems somewhat neglected, the 
horses still more help out the picture. There are four harnessed 
abreast, mostly with rope or light leather thongs — and not one looks 
as if a curry-comb ever had touched him. They are all small, 
shaggy, with long manes, and hair hanging about their ears in a 
peculiarly wild manner. Yet, if you look closer, you will see that, 
despite their unkempt looks, they all have exceedingly spirited, 
intelligent eyes, and you will observe that though they are small- 
bodied, they are very well built. The legs fine, but the joints firmly 
knit ; the chest broad, and all the lines of the animal fine and good. 
And if you are seated in a wagon, behind them as I was, with a 
" crack" Hungarian driver, you will find that you would not sweep 
over the prairies faster, if you were behind the best thorough-breds 
of an English stud. 

And the wagon, for all its appearance, is the most comfortable 
j'ou could possible have. I have tried these wagons for long days' 
lides in Hungary, over rough districts, and really I never found 
stage-coach or carriage half so pleasant for long distances. The 
spi-ings are good generally, and the limj is decidedly the best cushion 
yet invented. They have, too, a sort of awning of wicker-work for 
the I'ain, when it is needed. 



92 THE CROPS. 

I give a sketch on the next page of a common Hungarian fai-ming- 
" team." 

We rattled along in the most inspiriting manner, and there was 
a great deal, in the whole country through which we passed, to inte- 
rest me. First came the wide fields of Indian corn, just out of the 
■"/illage, now of course only in the first growth. Everything seemed 
on a grand scale ; the fields stretched as far as the eye could reach 
sometimes, and nowhere any fence or hedge — the only protection 
being a deep ditch occasionally. I asked my friend whether they 
used this corn at all for food. " No," he said, " they did not much. 
It was principally given to cattle and hogs, and was very much 
valued for that. In the South, and among the Wallachs, it was 
everywhere used for bread and cakes. They, in Central Hungary, 
however, did not like it for bread, though they made a pudding now 
and then from it. He would show me, when we reached the farm, 
a very peculiar national dish, which they made vdth it." As I found 
afterwards, this crop is as common in Hungary as it is with us in 
America ; and, except a few very cold districts in the Carpathians, is 
cultivated everywhere. The Croat has become as much attached 
to " Johnny cakes " as any Yankee could be ; though I believe the 
mysteries of " hasty pudding " have not yet been learned anywhere 
in the land. In many parts I have seen " corn " raised for green, 
fodder alone. The amount of this crop in Hungary is calculated, 
by good judges, at about 25,000,000 bushels. 

Scattered along beyond, between the corn-fields, were everywhere 
fields of lucerne, which is grown throughout Hungary, both for 
green fodder and hay. Wherever I have been in North Europe — ■ 
in England, Holstein, and Germany — I have seen great quantities 
of this species of clover. The farmers, universally, whom I have 
asked, set a very great value upon it ; and it surprises me that it is 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 93 

so little grown in America, where good fodder is certainly in as much 
demand as in any land. I believe it cannot be said to be in at all 
general use with us, except among the " book farmers." 

My friend then with me said, that he had often cut Jive crops from 
it — though three and four are the usual number in Hungary. It 
appears they tried for a while, through the country, the red clover 
but it did not succeed well with all the manuring they could give it. 
The climate was too hot and dry in summer for it, they say, and, 
in consequence, lucerne clover was introduced, which works excel- 
lently. 

Though my companion was a common farmer, he was remarka- 
bly well educated. He knew all the botanical names of the jflowers 
and plants along the road, and their uses, and answered all my 
questions with the greatest clearness and intelligence. As we rode 
along he pointed out to me a yellow flower, which covered all the 
road side, and told me to pick a bunch, and see if I knew it. I 
gathered a handful, and saw at once the flowers were the Chamo- 
mile flowers. The preparation and export of these is a very con- 
siderable business, I am told, from all Central Hungary. One of 
the most common crops along the whole road was a little green 
plant with a bright yellow flower, which I did not recognize at fii-st, 
but which I soon found to be the rape plant, grown everywhere in 
Hungaiy for the rape seed and oil. 

The building of oil presses and cultivation of the " Repsbau^'' as 
they call it, has become a very important branch of industry within 
a few yeai-s, in various parts of the land, especially in South Hun- 
gary. The export of the oil in the years from 1831-40, averaged 
about 34,521 centners, (a centner containing 135 lbs.) In 1845, it 
amounted to 28'7,460 ! It is planted, my companion said in the 



94 THE PUSZTA. 

spring, till about June 15th, and reaped from the 15th of August on 
to the beginning of October. 

Among all these crops were, of com'se, large fields of wheat, and 
occasionally of barley and oats. We passed, too, immense plots of 
ground intended for water melons and musk melons alone. These 
both, are almost necessaiies of life for the Hungarian peasantry. 
The country is sadly supplied with water, and in their dry summers 
the water melons are everywhere used to quench thirst. But every- 
where, through all these fine crops, it surprised me not to see a 
single tree or rock. The fields stretched away on every side, green 
with the " corn " and the wheat, to the horizon, but not one object to 
disturb the level. As we rode farther, however, more of the peculiar 
Puszta showed itself. The crops and the cultivated land began to 
he passed, and we entered wide meadows, opening out before us like 
the sea, without a hillock or tree, to the very verge of the horizon. 
The only objects which varied the level wei-e an occasional taU well- 
pole and the vast flocks and herds which one could see in the dis- 
tance. The grass was low — not rich — and full of bright flowers, 
among which the wild poppy made a very brilliant show. Alto- 
gether, the unvarying uniformity, and the vasiness of the scene, 
impressed one's mind deeply. 

Some distance beyond, my companion drove me among the herds 
which he himself owned. The horned cattle are entirely peculiar 
to Hungary. I never saw a similar breed anywhere else. They 
are white in color, or an ashy gray ; though more generally a pure 
white. The cows are much larger than ours, and with longer legs, 
but with the same straight back as our best breed. Their horns do 
not bend forward like those of other breeds, but curve directly back 
like a roe buck's or chamois', and, as they are often three feet in 
length, they give a most pecuUarly wild, defiant expression. In fact 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 95 

one gets an idea from the animal, for the tu'st time, what the cow 
was intended to be by nature. There is none of the heavy, wad- 
dling gait in them, which we see in our animals. Tiieir step is as 
light and free as a stag's ; and with their noses raised to the wind, 
their clear black eye and long curved horns, and stepping proudly 
away, as they do, they really make a veiy beautiful appearance. 
They are not by any means equal, however, to the English or Swiss 
cows, in the giving of milk. The beef seems quite as good as the 
English. They are best adapted to the Piisztas, and would be as 
unsuited to our narrow pastures, as our short-legged, heavy -haunched 
Durhams would be to the prairies here. The price of a common 
cow is from ^25 to $30 ; but a fu-st rate cow of this breed, from 
some of the best dairies — as Count Estherhazy's — has been sold as 
high Jis $200, and a bull for $500. 

In the herds, occasionally, I caught a glimpse of a singular look- 
ing animal, which I did not know at all. It was generally of a grey 
color, with a sort of heavy folded hide upon it, hke a hippopotamus, 
without hair and with short horns, in shape of body somewhat hke 
our buffalo, and nearly as lai-ge. A heavy, stupid-looking animal, 
wallowing in the mud usually. It appears it is the Baffel, (bos buf- 
fulus), or wild cow from Thibet, which the Turks, in their conquest, 
probably introduced. They use it in Hungary as a beast for 
di'aught, as it is immensely strong. The milk, too, is much valued, 
and I found it very rich indeed. These herds of white cattle, each 
some thousand or fifteen hmidred in number, scattered over these 
immense plains, give a very striking appearance to the landscape. 

In the midst of every herd is usually one tall Bauer (peasant,) 
with huge sheep-skin hanging hke a cloak of wool about him, 
serving him at once for cloak, and bed, and house, through all 
seasons. 



96 THE CSIKOS. 

Two or three of the Hungarian white dogs are his only compan- 
ions, and he hves that soUtary hfe, on the grand prairies, in the 
midst of his herds, a great part of the year. Some of these cattle 
diivers, or Csikos, as they call them, are very original, singular 
characters, and, of the most remarkable, those near Debreczin, 
shall have more to say hereafter. They are a free, indomitable set 
of men, and with the tinge of wild, poetic feeling, which marks all 
the Hungarian peasantry. The voice which thrilled to every cor- 
ner of the land in 1848, reached even them. They came, in theu' 
rough skins from the wild life of the Pusztas, to hear Kossuth speak 
. of freedom, of Human Brotherhood, of the wrongs and dangers of 
Hungary. The passionate eloquence of the Reformer, as he spoke 
of these great themes ; his solemn appeal to Him, whom they, it is 
said, worship with a reverence we can hardly imderstand, seemed to 
these " sons of the desert " to come from some one more than man. 
They followed him as a prophet. No weapons could be given 
many of them, and they fought with their lassoes and whips. And 
as long as a blow could be struck for Hungary, these faithful, sturdy 
herdsmen gave theii' blood and their toil for the good cause. And 
when, at last, nothing more could be done, they went back to theu' 
solitary life on the Pusztas again — believing, it is said, most firmly, 
that their beloved Kossuth will soon return, from those great plains 
of Asia, whence they themselves sprung, with immense hordes 
of their - brethren, the Huns, to drive the conqueror again from 
Hungary ! 

Besides the cattle, we passed equally great droves of horses, the 
small, fine-hmbed animals so peculiar to Hungary, and which rove 
on these wild plains near the Theiss. They are a du-ect descent 
from Arabian blood — toughened by the chmate, and degenerated 
often from want of cai'e ; still with many of the qualities of the old 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 97 

stock. They say no horses are so enduring, for long travel, in sum- 
mer or winter, as these shaggy little animals. 

The whole stock of Hungarian horses had, in the latter part of 
the last century, very much degenerated, especially by the mingling 
of poor foreign breeds from Denmark and Italy, and by the too 
general use of the old Spanish stock. At the beginning of this, the 
attention of the gentry through the land was aroused to the impor- 
tance of imj)roving the breed, and more careful modes of raising 
the foals were adopted. Horses of good stock, too, were introduced 
from England, and horse-races were commenced, so that now the 
breed is said to be very much bettered throughout Hungary. Very 
many of the gentlemen still, however, have a great fancy for Eng- 
lish " hunters," and fill their stables with them. 

The Hungarians are a nation of riders. The boy is on a horse 
almost as soon as he can walk. The Bauer himself, looks in his 
Sunday dress, as if he remembered his origin, and were more of a 
cavalier than a peasant. The pointed hat with the long stork's 
feather, the neat short jacket and high boots with rattling spurs, are 
the invariable peasant's festive dress, even when he goes to a dance 
The cavalry of Hungary is said to be unequalled, and the perfect 
familiarity of the Hungarian hussar with his horse, and with every 
mode of fighting from horseback, give him an immense advantage. 
In the last war the full charge was often made by the Hussars, with 
the sabre in one hand, a pistol in the other, the bridle in their teeth, 
and their head crouched down behind the horee's head. The Hun- 
garian i-egimeuts of Hussai's were considered the best in the Austrian 
ai'my ; and the " Imperial Cavalry," famous as it is, nearly always 
went down before their tremendous charge, during the war of Inde- 
pendence. However, it must be acknowledged, that in modern war- 
6 



98 THE HUNGARIAN SHEEP. 

fare, the cavalry are not, by any means, the mi:)st important force of 
an army. 

As we rode along, my companion turned out of the slight track 
we were following across the prairie, to show me some fine flocks of 
sheep and hogs feeding in the plain. The hog's were a brown, 
short-legged breed, which he called the " Hungarian " — not very 
large, though fat, and giving excellent pork, he said. There is 
another very curious breed, called the " Tm-kish," which is much 
valued, and which I saw afterwards. The sheep looked well, with 
very fine wool — not large however — somewhat like the Welsh 
breeds. There are very remarkable breeds, hoveever, which I saw 
later, near Debreczin, and the export of fine wool from Hungary 
forms one of its most profitable branches of trade. 

The shepherd of these flocks puts his provisions and water on a 
donkey and the flock always cluster about the animal, and -so they 
wander around over the wide plains. Like all the peasants, these 
shepherds were singulai-ly tall, imposing-looking men. And with 
their long, black hair, erect forms, and huge sheep-skin cloaks, they 
make a most striking figure in the landscape. 

No one, who is not used to our western prairies, can form an idea 
of the grandeur and solemnity of these immense Pusztas of Central 
Hungaiy. The vast range of view, the solitude, the immense herds 
of animals, looking, however, hke specks in the wide plain, leave a 
most pecuhar impression on the mind of the traveller. And to all 
this, is sometimes added the singular mirage of those plains, so that 
I have sometimes seemed to myself to be traveUing on from a 
boundless prairie of grass and flowere on the one side, towards a 
wide, sparkhng sea, dotted with beautiful islets, and fringed with 
shi'ubbery on the other. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 99 

As night began to come on we readied the settlement in the 
Puszta and the estate I intended to visit. It must have been as 
surprising to oui- host, having an American for a guest, as it would 
have been for one of our Kentucky gentlemen to be suddenly visited by 
a Chinese traveller. However, no surprise was shown. An agreeable, 
cultivated company met us with the heartiest welcome. The supper- 
table was soon loaded with all the genuine Hungarian delicacies ; 
snipe from the Puszta,' the sturgeons from the Theiss, young chickens 
stewed in red pepper, piles of fried cakes, and with these, the 
mineral water from the springs, the hght wines from various dis- 
tricts, and especially, to honor the foreign guest, the rich, golden, 
old Tokay, that prince of wines. As it may be imagined, my 
companion and myself attacked the inviting dishes with travellers' 
aj^petites, and it was late in the evening when we sat there still, I 
telling of the free land, the new home for the Hungarians over the 
ocean, and they, describing their struggles and losses to win freedom 
to Hungary. 

At the end we were shown into a large apartment, which seemed 
to be furnished with several beds for guests who might arrive, and 
left to sleep away soundly our day's fatigue. It was rather charac- 
teristic of Hungarian manners, that the last thing I saw before going 
to sleep of my companion who had come with me, was a long pipe 
protruding from the bed-clothes, and the first thing which met my 
eye in the morning, was a cloud of smoke gently ascending from 
the same pile of blankets and piUows. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Inner Hungary. 

*H , April, 1851. 

As soon as possible the next morning, after the Hungarian break- 
fast — a cup of coftee and some bits of toast — I sallied out to see the 
grounds and the farm. But first, my readers may be interested to 
know something of the house itself. Like all the houses of the 
Hungarians, of gentle and simple, it has only one story, though that 
is high and airy. The main apartment, where the family dine and 
sit mostly, stretches through the house from front to rear, and is a 
very spacious, cool room for their hot summers. It opens in front 
on a portico, under which are seats for the smokers ; and on the 
other side the windows lead out to a grassy bank, where are one or 
two walks, which conduct to a knoll overlooking the wide plain of 
the Theiss. The other apartments of the house are arranged on 
each side of a long corridoi', running the whole length of the 
building. 

One must confess that the whole Hungarian nation are widely 
behind the rest of Europe in practical improvements. The houses 

* It should be said here that I am obliged to use great caution in regard to 
names of places and dates in Hungary, from fear of unpleasant consequences 
to my friends and acquaintances. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 101 

of the middle classes especially show it, cool and pleasant enough for 
the summer, but with scarcely any of those little conveniences that 
make up our idea of comfort. Rich furniture often in the drawing- 
rooms, and the kitchen in a neighboring out-house, or in a little 
dark hole in the house, with the smoke curling up through an aper- 
ture in the roof. Baths, or gas-lighting, or private or separate 
chambers, are almost unknown in even the best houses of the inland 
towns. And the inns, in everything which can be called conve- 
nience, throughout interior Hungary, are, we may fairly say, nearly 
the worst in the world. The usual style is, a low, white-washed 
structure, built around three sides of a barn-yard, in the midst of 
which is commonly a reeking pool. The rooms are seldom clean, 
and the common comforts of a hotel are utterly absent. 

I do not mean that any traveller, furnished with letters of intro- 
duction as I was, will ever find any inconvenience from all this. 
For such generous, open hospitality as the Hungarians manifest, is 
to be seen in no land, and would make the most fastidious person 
entirely contented. I mention this merely to show in what respects 
the country is as yet behindhand. The fault is not, however, in the 
character of the nation. 

Give them a good government, and free contact with the world 
for a half-dozen years, and they would equal any nation in Europe 
in their practical progress. As it is, their chief city, Pesth, will 
compare favorably with any Capital, in this respect. 

As the gentleman whom I was visiting was a large farmer, his 
house formed a kind of centre to a collection of Bauer-cabins on 
every side, belonging to his workmen. These, together with his 
out-houses, were well separated from his own grounds, and screened 
by a large hedge of lilacs and acacias. We went out, first, in our 
ramble to his barns and cattle-yards. They were not by any means 



102 THE CATTLE-FUEL. 

as extensive as one would expect from the size of the farm — some 
500 acres, around the house, with an indefinite extent into the 
Puszta beside. However, it appears the cattle are almost entirely 
kept on the Puszta in the summer, and only brought in to be sold 
or killed in the fall. The hay and grain, too, are very much stacked 
in the open air. These barns which I saw were all made of mud- 
blocks and white-washed, with roofs thatched with reeds, and 
generally, hke the best of our own, built around the three sides of a 
yard. 

There were but few of the cattle or animals in the yards, though 
this gentleman has some 500 head of cattle, half as many of horses, 
1,500 sheep, 800 swine, and other things, in a real patriarchal 
style. What there were there, however, were fine-looking animals. 

The sheep and hogs of the farm were nearly all, at this season, on 
the Puszta. 

In looking around in the barn-yards, I noticed a great quantity 
of small, square pieces, of dry dung, arranged in rows. I supposed, 
of course, it was intended for manure, but happened to ask some 
some question about it, and learned that this was for fuel! It 
brought up at once another of the thousand tokens I meet with all 
the while, of the Oriental and Nomadic origin of this people. Who 
has forgotten what travellers tell us of the dung-fuel of the 
Tartare on the steppes of Western Asia, or of the Arabs of the 
deserts ? 

While returning back to the house, my friend said he would show 
me one of the Hungarian granaries. Accordingly we stopped at a 
little spot well covered with branches of dead trees. One of the 
Bauer, at the order of the gentleman, removed these, then some 
boards, then shoveled out some loose dirt, and there was disclosed a 
hole, about the size of a man, leading down to a cave under ground. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 103 

Tliis seemed to be about six feet high, as many broad, and perhaps 
ten feet long, and is used to store the wheat for winter. It is made 
with a cui-ved picking instrument which they have for the purpose, 
and the top is carefully rounded. The whole is rendered dry and 
hard by burning it out, after which dry straw is strown withiu it 
The wheat stored in these by the Bauer will sometimes last twenty 
years. The great advantage is in the saving of building material, 
as wood and stone are so difficult to get hei-e. 

I could not believe they could prevent the dampness from oozing 
in, after some of their long rains. My friend, however, seemed to 
think them excellent. One of the gentlemen of the party on the 
other hand called them "humbugs," and thought that more grain 
was lost than saved by them. They say that the Russians acquired 
a preternatural sagacity in detecting these underground granaries* 
among the peasJintry, in their campaign here, in 1849. 

After our walk, we all returned to the portico, where we sat long, 
I enjojang the singular landscape of green prairie, dotted with the 
cottages of the peasants, or with the clumps of the acacias, and my 
companions contemplatively smoking their cigars. We talked much 
of America. They inquired of our system of government — of our 
common schools — and compared it all with their own old Constitu- 
tion — and with what they intended by the Revolution to erect. 

They showed, as people do everywhere here, a remarkable ac- 
quaintance with our whole principle of government, and even with 
our history. I remember as an illustration of the latter, that the_^ 
spoke of their resolve to give up tobacco '' as we did our tea^'' 
rather than pay the oppressive tax laid by the Austrians. 

It is exceedingly pleasant to an American to find how gratefully 
the few acts of kindness from his countrymen to the Hungarians are 
appreciated in Hungary. " We consider your countrymen as our 



104 KOSSUTH-NOTES. 

brethren," said these gentlemen ; " you have given us your sympa- 
thy and aid, and the time will never come when our homes will not 
be open to you !" 

In the course of the conversation we came to speak of the " Kos- 
suth bank notes." 

I inquired whether they considered it altogether just to issue such 
a quantity of paper money on so little basis. 

" Certainly, we do," they rephed. " The Austrian paper — some 
thirty per cent, below par value — was flooding our country in the 
beginning of the Revolution. We had oui'selves a better basis for 
such a currency, and we did not wish to be so dependent on Austria. 
We did precisely what you did in your Revolution — issue paper 
money. However oiu* basis was good. Under Kossuth the 
incomes from our public property, mines, and monopohes, and salt- 
works, were ten-fold greater than before, and the taxes quadrupled 
in amount by the taxing of the upper classes, without the people 
being so much burdened as formerly. All this would have easily 
paid up our paper debt eventually. Besides, you can see the real 
value of it, by the fact that forty millions of Austrian notes were at 
once driven out of the country." 

I asked what amount they supposed had been issued ? " About 
eighty milhons," they replied ; " and of this, some forty millions, 
probably, are now buried or concealed." 

" The peasantry, everywhere," they said farther, " have large 
quantities hidden, waiting for better times. A few of them, as well 
as some of us, were foolish enough to deliver up our notes to the 
Austrian government on promise of restitution. Of course we have 
never had a Tcreutzer back, and we shall be very cautious how we 
are ever caught again !" 

After some farther pleasant conversation of this kind, it was pro- 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 105 

posed that I should see somethmg of Hungai-ian agriculture, and 
accordingly we all mounted one of the large wicker wagons, and 
rode out to examine the " farm." 

The first part of the ride was among the low white-washed cot- 
tages of the peasants, each with its patch of melons and vines about 
it. Beyond these, stretched out the wide fields belonging to this 
estate. 

The principal crops were Indian corn and wheat, and as there 
were no fences, only deep ditches to separate the fields from one 
another, or from the road, the green surface of rich grain seemed to 
reach away even to the very horizon. These prairie fields are all 
very rich, and from their accounts must almost equal om- celebrated 
" Western Bottoms." They speak of wheat grown for fifteen or 
twenty years in the same fields, without change of crops or new 
manuring. 

The tax laid by the Austrian Government on the Hungarian 
wheat — raised, not exported — is about 25 per cent, on its value, at 
the rate of 50 cents per kiebel. The export of wheat from Hun- 
gary during these last few yeare has been fully two millions and a 
half of Zentner, or some 300,000,000 lbs. per annum. Of Indian 
corn, there is scarcely any amount of consequence, exported, but 
the quantity raised must be immense. I have travelled for days 
through what seemed one endless field of green, rich-looking corn. 

If the day ever comes in which Hungary is an Independent 
State, it is from these inexhaustible plains that will proceed the sup- 
plies of grain for manufacturing Europe. There would be no diffi- 
culty. Large rivei-s, railroads connecting with Germany and Italy, 
a seaport on the Adi-iatic — they need nothing more, except enter- 
prise. XTnder American energy, or with a free government of their 
own, they would be exporting to every countrv of Europe. 
5* 



105 WINES OF HUNGARY. 

Beside the crop above mentioned, I could see mingled among 
them everywhere, as before on the Prairie, the large fields, yellow 
with the flower of the rape-plant. 

Here too again appeared the clover Lucerne in gi-eat abundance. 
I was surprised here, as I have been everywhere in Hungary, to see 
the marked resemblance in fruits and products to our Middle States. 
The peach, cherry, currant, apple, and melon in the gardens ; the 
long fields of oats, wheat, tobacco, and Indian corn, with the buck- 
wheat upon the hills ; and the beans, peas, and cucumbers about 
the houses, just as one might see in riding in the interior of New 
York, or in the best counties of Pennsylvania. It all indicates — 
what indeed is the fact — a climate much resembling our own, with 
like extremes of heat and cold. 

The only product which we do not have in America in such 
abundance, and which here, and everywhere in Hungary stretches 
out in long, green rows over the fields, and freshens the hill-sides 
and bare mountain-tops with its rich verdure, is the vine. The 
glory of Hungary in the natural world, its choicest and most boun- 
tiful product, are the varieties of grapes. They cover the whole 
land, and the lowest Bauer has his vineyard. And in no country of 
Europe are such pure, dehcious wines made as here. Thei-e is 
scarcely any wine of note in Europe that is not drugged, or con- 
siderably strengthened by alcohol. This is unknown in Hungary, 
and even the best Tohay — the most rare and costly wine in tlie 
country — is a pure juice of the grape. Water throughout the Hun- 
garian plain is bad and extremely hard to get, so that I may safely 
say more wine is drank through the majority of the population than 
water, I have heard soldiers speak of frequently being obliged, in 
the campaign of '48 and '49 to hoil their heef in wine, as no water 
was to be procured. 



HUN&ARY IN 1851. 107 

The common light wine of the country, far superior to any similar 
wine in Germany or France, sells at about three kreutzers (2 cents) a 
bottle. The number of varieties made here is astonishingly great, 
amounting to nearly thirty from Hungary alone — and they them- 
selves varying very considerably in taste and strength. 

The Tokay — well known by name in most other countries — is 
considered the choicest of these. It is made from a grape growing 
on a hill at Tokay, near the Upper Theiss, and is prepared, I under- 
stand, by gathering the very ripest of the grapes, left on the vines 
till they seem on the very verge of rotting, then depositing them in 
a large vessel with a strainer, and leaving them to press out their 
own juice. Of course, this first extract amounts to but very httle ; 
it is collected, however, with the greatest care, and forms the gen- 
uine " Extract" of Tokay, a thick, pulpy, golden-colored wine, sweet 
in taste — thought by the knowing in such matters throughout East- 
ern Europe, to be the best wine made in the world. It is exceed- 
ingly expensive, even in Hungary; selling from 50 cents to $2.50 
per pint bottle. After this is extracted, old wine is poured over the 
grapes, and another extract of Tokay is made, also a sweet wine, 
and very much valued. The third extract is made by mingling in 
many grapes, not so fully ripe or so carefully selected, but still from 
the pecuhar kind which grows on the ridge of the Carpathians in 
that district. The Tokay is seldom drank by the Hungarians freely, 
but is brought forth on especial occasions, when the Himgarian 
would express his hospitality, and is taken in small glasses at the 
end of the meal, as a rarity or cordial. It is much valued, too, by 
the physicians for its peculiar sanative properties. Of the many 
other kinds of wine in Hungary, the most celebrated are the Menes, 
a sweet wine, considered nearly equal to the Tokay, the Erlaii, red 
wine, the Offner, and the Schomlauer, a white wine, with several 



108- TRADE IN WINE. 

other wines on the right bank of the Danube. There is a " Cham- 
pagne " made here too, though not equal to the French. It is a 
curious fact that this pecuhar fertihty of Hungary in wines was 
known even in the times of the Roman Empire, for it is said that 
in the year, A. D., 2Y6, a Roman Emperor gaves ordere for the cul- 
tivating of one of the Sirmian wine-hills, in the soutb-western 
part of Hungary, for the sake of the very remarkable wine produced 
there. 

The sourest and poorest kinds of grapes seem to grow generally 
on the plains, the better and richer on the side-hills. The annual 
yield of wine in Hungary, is reckoned, by good statistical writers, at 
about twenty-eight milHons of SJimer, tbe Elmer holding rather more 
than twelve gallons. Yet, despite this immense production, despite 
the quality of the wines being, beyond question, the purest and best 
in Europe, the export to foreign countries has always been veiy 
slight indeed. 

The Tokay is mostly bought up by Jews, who cany it over the 
mountains to Poland and Russia, whence it finds its way to 
Prussia and Germany. 

There is an unimportant trade, too, in this and other wines to 
Austria, by the Danube ; but " the paternal legislation" of Vienna 
has always arranged it, so that Hungarian wines could only be 
exported under a duty, which would utterly ruin the trade — and the 
consequence has been that the wines have mostly been consumed in 
the country. Since Hungary has been " absorbed" into Austria, the 
taxes on the growing of wines, as I shall show hereafter, have 
equally operated to check the whole production. 

It is thought by some travellers that the best Hungarian wines 
will not bear exportation over the sea. The Hungarians all claim, 
however, that if properly pi-epared they can be sent any distance 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 109 

without the least injury. I have no question that under a good 
government, this product of Hungary would be the most important 
and profitable export, and that the Hungarian hills and mountam 
sides would be as much sought by wine merchants for rare and 
good wines, as are those of Southern France or Spain. 

I hold it a fortunate thing for a country, where it produces a 
native wine. Whatever may be the explanation, I think no man 
who has travelled in wine-producing countries, can doubt the fact, 
that drunkenness is much less common in those lands than in 
regions where the vine is not raised. With all its cheap and 
overflowing produce of wines, I never saw all the time I was in 
Hungary a single drunken man. I never witnessed, at the most 
jovial tables, the least " hard-drinking." 

As I have travelled through the land, I have often won- 
dered why this beautiful product was denied to America. The 
chmate of the two countries appeai-s almost the same. I 
inquired repeatedly about the time of spring, the average cold, 
the amount of snow, &c., and all the answere seemed to show a 
climate remarkably resembling our own. There are the same 
extremes, the same sudden changes of temperature, the same clear, 
stimulating atmosphere, so pecuhar with us. Snow, I should think, 
in nearly the same quantity as in inner New York, the summers 
hke those there too, dry and hot, and the spring, commonly, really 
beginning in the middle of April. 

The situation of the countiy, though not apparently like our 
own, yet produces similar results in climate. Too far inland to be 
touched by the warm, moist breezes which bathe all the western 
coasts of Europe, and exposed also to the keen, cold blasts from the 
lofty Carpathians, it, at the same time, fi'om it southern situation 
and tlie influence of the sun, on those wide, uncovered plains, shows 



110 CLIMATE. 

as liigli a range of temperature in summer as our own climate ; so 
that the effects are nearly the same as from our own exposure at 
once to a trojiical sun and to polar winds ; and fi'om our dej)rivation 
of those warm, moist winds fi-om the sea, which so favor the tem- 
perature of Western Europe. 

The other productions, too, as I before said, are nearly the same 
in the two countries — so that climate will hardly account for the 
difference in the growth of the vine. Neither will difference of soil, 
as the vine in Hungary is raised on almost every variety of earth, 
from the slate, or granitic soil of the mountain sides, to the 
sandy soil, or rich mould, on the plains. The only cause is, pro- 
bably, the httle attention which has thus far been given to the 
matter in America, and the little experience possessed by most in 
cultivating the vine. 



CHAPTER XIY. 
A Peasant's Home. 

Hbvks Comitat— Inner Httngaet— April, 1851. 

I STILL continued my journey through the rural districts, and 
agaia found myself in the hospitable and friendly family of a gentle- 
man residing near the small village of 'N . 

As we all sat, one morning, in the usual lounging-place of the 
Hungarians, the portico, one of the Batter (peasants) on the estate 
came up near us, and gradually joined in the convei-sation. I could 
not but be struck at once with his appearance. Full six feet high, 
with a face browned by the weather, and somewhat thinned by 
work ; a full, aquiline nose ; small, keen dark eyes, and long black 
hair fiiUing smooth over his cheeks, like an Indian's. Add to this, 
a flowing, well-tiimmed beard and moustache ; an erect, muscular 
form, and one of their large, shaggy sheep-skins folded around him, 
as a Roman senator might fold his toga — and you have a man 
whom in most countries of the world, one would involuntarily stop 
to gaze at and admire. Seeing he was quite ready to talk, I 
attempted to draw him into convei-sation with me, asking him, 
through, one of the party who inteii^reted, if he had ever heard of 
America ? — if he would like to go there ? — how he got along here ? 
&c., &c. 



112 TALK WITH A PEASANT. 

He was a shrewd fellow, and replied very cautiously at first, until 
he found out who I was, after which he became more communica- 
tive, though still there was a kind of Indian dignity and reserve 
about him. 

At length I asked him whether he expected Kossuth back ? His 
face lighted up, and he said passionately, 

" I have fought for him once, and I hope to again." 

•' But do you really think he will escape ?" said I. 

" The reply was very characteristic. " He will come hack with 
another Spring. I have sioorn not to cut my beard till he returns P' 
and he pointed to his flowing beard. 

It appears it is not the custom for the Bauer to wear more than a 
moustache, and he wore his beard as a vow. 

I asked him still further, " Why he was not contented now ? 
He had no Robot (feudal service) to do ; he was better off" than be- 
fore the revolution," 

He rephed, " That he never had done Robot-service. He could 
Hve now, to be sure, but the taxes were heavy, and he wanted 
Hungary to he free. He hated the Austrians !" 

After some little farther talk, we asked him if he would show us 
his house. He was willing, and without giving him time to arrange 
anything, we followed him at once over the fiiild to his little house. 

The fence which surrounded it was made of willow branches 
woven togethei", and seemed slight enough against the incui'sions of 
men or beasts. However the great guard for everything was a number 
of those long-bodied, white, shaggy dogs, who look as if they could 
throttle a wolf without difficulty, and who at once without warn- 
ing, made a fierce, combined attack at our legs, and only beat a re- 
treat after a good use of our walking sticks. In the yard, there 
were a few out-houses for cattle, and beyond a garden with melons. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 113 

the great luxury ©f the peasants, and a patch of vines, as eveiy 
Bauer makes his own wine. The whole looked small, even for a 
Avorking man, and without any touch of taste or beauty about it. 
Still it was neat and moderately well kept. The house was a small, 
white-washed building of mud blocks, with a reed thatch on the 
ro6f, and provided on the side with the invariable accompaniment of 
every Hungai'ian house or cabin — a low piazza, with solid columns 
or arches to uphold it. This pecuharity of building, which one sees 
everywhere in Hungary, is the only distinct trait of Hungarian 
architecture which can be mentioned, except the position of the 
houses, as I have before described it. This piazza, it must be 
remembered, is not a projecting portico, but rather a covered arch- 
way in the side of the house itself; and must have been first 
built for the sake of a cool retreat in their hot summers. I have 
often noticed the arcades or piazzas with much interest iu the 
villages, for they are, many of them, exceedingly pretty in form, 
with heavy arches and low columns, like those one sees at times in 
the earliest Romanesque style in the fii-st Lombard churches. Yet 
the form is evidently not a copy from anything, and was probably 
struck upon by the architect accidentally. In the better houses, 
this structure is sometimes carried out in the inner apartments — the 
ceiling being supported by a number of ai-ches, meeting in the centre 
of the room, and resting on low columns — giAing it all something 
of the appearance of a crypt, but still making a very cool and pic- 
tnn^sque apartment. However, to our Bauer's cabin. 

The inside has only two rooms, one where the family live, and 
the other " for company." The entrance, and what at firet seemed a 
sort of " pantry," separates them. This is hung with dishes and the 
best ware which the family possess, In the midst of it, front- 
ing the door, is a broad, white object, built of stone, like an altar. 



114 BAUER'S HOUSE KEEPING. 

which you discover after awhile, is the kitchen, ^reptoce, the fire 
being made on the open top, and the " draught" coming from a 
hole in the roof above. It is only within three years that this most 
unpractical contrivance has been replaced in some of the best houses 
of Hungary, with a cooking stove. 

The two rooms of the house are as neat as the tidiest homes of 
our American housekeepers. The flooi"s are of hardened earth, 
but very dry and well swept. In each I'oom is a tall, white pja-amid 
in the corner, of baked mud blocks, which is their stove, and a kind 
of " air-tight" beside, as they can shut it up close and keep their 
fij-ee a great while in the winter. There are chairs and benches for 
furniture, and several large, clean-looking beds. In the best room 
are better chairs, a»d various httle objects of a more valuable kind, 
which om- family of Bauer happened to have. Among the 
wealthier Bauer, one sees a good board flooring on this room, 
usually. It was charactelistic of the Hungarian Bauer, and what 
is always seen in theii- cottages, that a well-used Bible and Hymn- 
book were in one corner of this room. 

After we had examined everything quite thoroughly for a time, 
at which our host appeared in no degree offended, he and his wife 
brought forth their best dresses from a large box, as a curiosity for 
ray inspection. There was his large sheep-skin robe for Sundays,- 
the wool, dressed and party-colored very nicely, and the other side 
well tanned, and really quite richly embroidered, so that it can be 
woi-n with either side out as the weather suits. Then there was 
another sheep-skin, his best overcoat, colored black, and the wool in 
this probably woven on to the hning, and thus made very long to shed 
rain. Besides these, there were his tall, shining boots, with jingling 
spurs, to be worn when he would put on his most " taking" costume, 
and would dance with the peasant g;rls on the green to the mus'ic 



HUNGARY IN 1851, 115 

of ihe Czigany (the Hungarian gipsies). His wife, witli visible 
pride, showed us her kodmbny^ a loose jacket of sheep-skin, with 
the softly-dressed, wool inside, and rich embroideries and colored 
figures outside, in fact her dress shawl ; then her gay red and 
yellow handkerchiefs for her head when she goes out on market- 
day to sell their garden vegetables, or to buy from the pedlars ; 
her huge sheep-skin cloak, too, for the storms, and her bright red 
leather boots, reaching up almost to her knees, to be worn only on 
great occasions, when she attends the yearly fair, or goes to church 
on Sunday mo)'nings. All this was very pleasant and interesting. 
and I felt quite glad at the opportunity of seeing a Hungarian 
Bauer's " fixtures." 

In going away the peasant took my hand, and wished me the 
Hungarian blessing — "Isten Aldjon Meg," and then said some- 
thing almost solemnly in Hungarian. I asked what it was, and 
they translated. 

" When I am driven out to your land over the waters, I shall 
come to you, for I will remember you have been under my roof !" 

From all which they say, this man and his cottage must be fair 
exainples of the Hungarian Bauer and their condition. He had 
always been and his father before him, a laborer on this estate. A 
hard-working peasant, hving on wages from fifteen to thirty kreut- 
zers (i. e. from thirteen to twenty-six cents) per day, still no slave, 
and no crushed man, like the Irish peasant. Vigorous in body, 
independent, with a good deal of information, considering his situa- 
tion, and certainly wath a more than usual shrewdness, he would 
compare favorably with the peasants of any country of Europe, not 
excepting those of England itself. It is true this man and his fellow- 
workmen on this estate, had never been obliged to do Feudal ser- 
vice ; but they had always hved under the same general constitu- 



116 FEUDAL BURDENS. 

tion and had suffered under the same exacting laws, as the other 
peasants of Hungary. 

I saw no reason afterwards, also, when I reached the districts 
where the Bauer had been obliged to work so many days a year for 
their masters, to suppose that they were in any degree less intelli- 
gent or less comfortably situated than these here. The truth is, as 
I shall show more at length hereafter, the old Hungarian Constitu- 
tion, like the cruel laws in the English code, was much worse on 
'paper than in practice. 

It has been, by the way, a very profitable thing for the gentle- 
man who had owned this estate, that he had had no serfs of any kind 
under him. A great many of the Hungarian landholders are suffer- 
ing now extremely from the Act of the Hungarian Parhament of 
'4 8 and '49, establishing the freedom of the Bauer from all feudal 
service. Some — aspecially the Siebenbiirgen — are utterly ruined 
by it, as the great value of their estates rested in the amount of 
Robot, or work due by law, attaching to the estates. Many, too, 
had mortgaged their properties on this labor as on so much rent 
accruing ; others had bought large farms, where the principal 
item of value was the Robot from the Bauer. All this has en- 
tangled theii- affairs in a most perplexing manner, or else has utterly 
ruined their properties. This gentleman here had entirely escaped 
all that, simply because he lived on no Robot, but paid labor its fair 
equivalent. 



CHAPTEE XV. 

A Hungarian Dinner. 

As we walked up to the house, talking of various mattei-s, and as 
the Bauer constantly stopped my friend to get his advice or opinion, 
I could not but think' how very pleasant the situation of a country 
gentleman in Hungary was. He is more like a patriarch among 
his family, than a landlord. His property is invested a great deal in 
immense herds of cattle, or in large grain fields which the peasants 
farm, and for the labor on which, they pay themselves by taking a 
certain portion of the crops. There is very little vexation of gather- 
ing " rent," and the trouble of selling enough to live comfortably 
by, is very slight indeed, as the buyers always come to the farmers 
in Hungary. It is a generous, free life, only a little dangerous to 
" poor human nature." It may make a man a gentleman, but it is 
a little liable also to make him a drone. After reaching the house, 
we found, with appetites well freshened by the walk, a hearty Hun- 
garian dinner set out for us ; and our " hostess," knowing m 
hobby at present for seeing the Hungarian habits, had prepared 
some of the peculiar dishes of the country for us. It ought to be 
mentioned here that the Himgarians, though they have a gi'eat 
variety of dishes at their dinners, are not by any means gross 
eatei-s. Indeed, any one blessed with the " Anglo-Saxon" capa- 



118 A DINNER. 

bilities of consuming roast beef and plum pudding, is quite put 
to shame at tlieir modest performances at table. The dinner hour 
is usually one o'clock, and the meal opens always, as it did here, 
with a soup. As a rehsh for this dish, there are commonly little 
round balls of dough filled with hashed meat, floating in it. After 
this comes the boiled beef eaten alone, without vegetables. At this 
dinner the next dishes were the choice fish of the Theiss — the river 
most celebrated in Hungary for its fish. Those we had here were a 
sturgeon — a small species, about a foot long ; boiled and stewed 
carp, a fish as large as our river carp, but with much finer flavor. 
Both made very choice dishes, but I was chary of them, as they ai-e 
said to be not at all healthy for strangers, causing frequently what is 
called the Theiss fever. At this point of the meal the wines were 
passed — the light white wine of the country ; the pure light red 
w^ne of Ofen, one of the most healthy wines of the world — and with 
them, much to my astonishment, there were passed around also, 
and most eagerly drank, various extremely disagreeable mineral 
waters. The waters from the iron springs in the Northern Carpa- 
thians, and from various sulphur springs — most of them having the 
odor of water from a very bad pump, and peculiarly calculated to 
spoil the taste of any diink they might be mingled with. Yet, as I 
afterwards found, the drinking of these medicinal waters with wine, 
is the universal custom on jovial occasions in Hungary ; and seems 
to be considered as a sort of continual medicine, or preventive of all 
the evils from good living. It vnll perhaps account for the very 
Httle injury done through the whole people to either their morals or 
health, by their constant wine-drinking. Our next coui-se was a 
stew of extremely small chickens {Hendel) prepared in red pepper, 
in a way which is somewhat exciti 'g to a stranger's palate who is 
not accustomed to this pecuUarity of the Hungarian cooking. lu 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 119 

fact, the whole poiDulation from Bauer to Magnate, make the most 
constant use in every possible way of red pepper, and every dish 
that can admit it, has it. 

Next followed a dish of small larks broiled, and then a genuine 
pudding of the country, such as is eaten in eveiy cottage and castle 
of the land, consisting of small strips of dough, worked up in such a 
way that they look hke httle bite of leather, and crisped, and at our 
dinner eaten with sugar — a not unpalatable pudding, despite its 
leathery appearance. 

After this came the .roast meats and salad ; and, as I have often 
seen, though not here, little round preparations of sour-hraut^ con- 
taining a piece of meat in the centre. Here another variety, from 
their innumerable Hungarian wines, was brought in — the Schorn- 
lauer, a white wine, considered by English, though not by Hunga- 
rians, the best, as it is not so sweet as their most celebrated wines. 

Closing the solid dishes, was a huge platter-full, set out with 
pride by the hostess, of genuine " Yankee fritters,^'' just smoking 
fi-om the frying-pan, and eaten in true New England style, with 
Bugar for sauce. I could not but smile at this imitation of our home 
dishes, and told them how often I had eaten that in America. 

They said they could show me one dish at least, which I had 
probably never seen, and whose material even, I would not guess — • 
and despite my protestations, at once ordered it. While waiting 
for it, the dessert of httle cakes and the generous old Tokay wine — 
the prince of wines — was brought in. During the whole time of the 
dinner the conversation ran on most cheerfully in the company. 
The children joked and talked with their father ; the gueste dis- 
cussed that subject which, in all their history, has been the subject 
most famihai' to this people, politics, and even the ladies joined in 
it, in that eager, passionate way which characterized the Hungarian 



120 DINNER-TALK. 

conversation every^vhere. As the dessert was brought in, the chil- 
dren all came up and kissed their father's hand and bade him good 
day, and left the room. The hostess commenced making the coffee 
on the table ; cigars were produced, and the company drew them- 
selves together for the best part of the meal — the after dinner 
conversation. 

It is curious to see the intense interest of the people everywhere 
in this country, in the Hungarian exiles in foreign lands. The first 
question from Bauer, or Noble, is always as to their countiymen — 
how they hve ? — what they are working upon ? how they bear 
themselves ? It seems to be a peculiarity of Hungary, that every 
one knows every one else. The men have all been thrown so con- 
stantly together, in their colleges, in political hfe, in the elections, in 
the Parhament, and at last, in the Revolution, that you can hai-dly 
mention a name of a person in Hungary, or without, who is not at 
once recognized, and whose life and history are not thoroughly 
known. As it may be imagined, many a question about their exiled 
leaders was asked me at this time, and I heard many an interesting 
fact of these men, who are now so constantly coming to our shores 
and to England, in the Hungarian emigration. 

It was very interesting, too, to see how the old battles were 
fought over. Most of those at the table had been in some, and 
each struggle and victory over the Austrians was gone over again, 
as many of us will remember in our childhood the old people used 
to recount the battles of our Revolution with the British. The gal- 
lant victories under Gorgey and Perczel, in the spring of '49 ; the 
taking of Pesth ; the driving of the Austrians to the borders of Hun- 
gary — all these were followed through with a real exultation at the 
remembrance. Then, more soberly, the entrance of the Russians, 
and Gorgey's long and disastrous retreat, and finally, even at this 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 121 

distance of time, they told with passionate indignation — even as we 
would, if AVashington had given up the contest and betrayed the 
army at "the crossing of the Delaware" — of Gorgey's treachery 
and the laying down of the aims at Vilagos. There is nothing a 
Hungarian likes better to speak of, than the bravery of his coun- 
tiymen, and especially when, as is usual, the Austrians are the suf- 
ferers under it. 

During our convereation, the " unknown" Hungarian dish was 
placed before us, and they all waited for my sui-prise, and my 
guesses, how it was made. I could not help a good laugh, when I 
saw that the mysterious article, was a large platter of very tempting- 
looking popped owns. They all joined in the laugh over the 
resemblance in our national delicacies, and without farther ado, we 
attacked the strange dish with a good relish. 

After some farther pleasant conversation, we broke up our party, 
and I bade adieu to my hospitable friend and to some as fine 
specimens of Hungarian men as I have often seen. 

The ride on, in a comfortable carriage of my host, was over the 
same wide, green stretch of the Puszta, and it was only towards 
nightfall, that I reached the next estate, to whose owner I was 
introduced. Here again came a hearty welcome — and another 
social evening. At the close, I was glad to retreat to the large 
room for guests, and in a good bed to sleep away the fatigue of the 
day. However, I found sleep was out of the question, under the 
incessant attacks of a swarm of peculiarly ravenous musquitoes. I 
said something about it to a gentleman who was sleeping in the 
same room — and, at once, despite my remonstrances, he called up 
the servant and ordered him to burn the musqidto-root — the gi-and 
preventive for musquitoes. This root they call the " Alant root" — 
(the Botanical name is Inula Helenium, I believe), and it belong-s 
6 



122 THE MUSQUITO-ROOT. 

to the same family, as tlie horse radish. The smoke, when the 
root is biu'iied on coals, has a strong aromatic odor, and is said to 
either drive out the musqnitoes, or to intoxicate them, so that they 
are utterly incapable of cariying out their bloody intentions. If 
intoxication is indicated by a strong propensity to singing, the said 
musquitoes were gloriously " high," on this occasion. For the last 
thing I remember that night, was a cheerful and jovial singing of 
the insects about my head, and the dark face of the Croat, as he 
swung the pan of coals, with the smoking root, Hke a waving censer 
around the bed. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The Hungarian Aristocrat and the Peasants. 

E s. Heves Comitat — April, 1851. 

In this village there is a wealthy gentleman, who illustrates very 
well a certain class in Hungary. I have taken the opportunity, 
while here, to visit him. 

His house is a white-washed stone-house, considerably larger 
than are most of the Hungarian houses, and surrounded with a 
really extensive park of bushes and trees. We wound up through 
the walks, passing an arbor where people were apparently breakfast- 
ing in the open air, and at last found the gentleman we wished to 
visit, sitting in the portico, enjoying his long Meerschaum, and 
" morning-coffee." 

He was a portly man, who had lived and grown fat all his life on 
the labor of others, and who, of course, took strong " conservative" 
views of all questions. Our conversation soon turned to political 
subjects. 

I inquired how the freedom from Robot — i. e, from feudal labor 
among the Bauer, had worked in that neighborhood ? 

" Badly, very badly, sir," said he, " the propi'ietora are almost 
ruined — they have lost everything. Their peasants are not obliged 



124 CONVERSATION— THE ROBOT. 

to work for them, and will not, except for very high wages. I have 
large estates in Siehenhurgen (Transylvania) now, which scarcely 
pay their expenses. When that Bill for freeing the peasants from 
rent, had passed the Parliament, I said at the time, — I was a 
member, — ^that the Government was bound to make a restitution. 

" And afterwards, when the clause was added in the resolution 
of the House, that the State would pledge a remuneration, suitable 
to its honor, I told the House that it was all too much mere 
'phrases. We wanted a more exact promise. As it is, we have 
received nothing. Many a man has lost his all. The most of them 
expected some kind of a restitution ; but thus far, they have not 
had a kreutzer. The Government now promises, according to its 
plan, to make good a third of the loss ; but it has not been done 
yet, and we fear, never will be." 

In regard to this plan of the Austrian Government it appears, 
that in freeing the peasants in Bohemia, they have adopted the 
rule of making the peasants pay one thu'd of the loss — taking on 
themselves another ihird, and lea^ang the rest to be borne by the 
landlords. Though, as I frequently found in Bohemia, the Govern- 
ment-quota had been very scantily paid. 

I inquired of this gentleman how he had met the change there 
on his estate 1 

" My peasants," said he in reply, " did not own their httle plots 
of ground, as in many districts. They only 'occupied,' and paid 
their rent in this labor, of a certain number of days' work in the 
year. After the act of Parliament of '47 and '48, they became 
of course, all free from any forced rent, while the land still con- 
tinues mine. The course, which I have adopted since — and M'hich 
I have found very profitable — is to let out my whole estate, nearly, 
to tenants, giving leases only for five years. I have been in this 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 125 

way freed from the annoyance of finding labor, at this time, for 
my fields. I am sure, too, of all my income in distm-bed times, 
and I have guarded against too frequent changes in the manage- 
ment of my farms by leasing for five years." 

Our conversation turned, not long after, to the Kevolution and 
Kossuth. 

" It was a foolish thing for Hungary," he said, " we staked every- 
thing on a mere chance — and lost. Kossuth was no statesman. 
He ought never to have declared the Independence of Hungary. 
He ought to have known we would be ruined. No other power 
would help us in Europe, and what could we hope against Russia 
and Austria ? It was a foohsh, impractical thing. We might have 
gained something, then, by other measm-es, but now, we have lost 
all." 

It did not seem to occur to him that there are times, when a 
State, as well as a man, may act boldly, without being at all certain 
of the consequences. However, his pocket, poor man, had suffered 
much from the Revolution — and what else could be expected from 
him! 

In reference to his losses, as well as the losses generally of the 
landlords, in Transylvania, it should be remembered that in no othei 
pai't of Hungary, were the feudal exactions on the peasants so 
oppressive, and as a natural result, in no part have the losses of the 
pi-oprietors in the freedom of the peasants been so great, so irre- 
mediable. No peasant will work, even for wages, for the man who 
once treated him as a brute. 

I asked farther some questions about the taxes and the present 
pohcy of the Government. 

" Conservative," as he was, he could not conceal his bitterness, 

"They have taxed everything," he said, "my house, garden, 



126 HUNGARIAN HOSPITALITY. 

crops, my wine, and the tobacco in my fields ; and even my wife and 
my servants must pay their poll tax. I consider the Government 
most unfortunately advised. No one in office understands the 
character of the people. As things go on now, there is danger. 
They must change. The present state of things cannot continue. 
And for my part, I confidently hope soon for a change of pohcy." 

This man, as I have said above, represented an important class — 
the wealthy landholders and the Magnates, or Lords, who stood 
aloof from the mass of the nation, in their struggle. They were 
never respected before the Revolution, and since, they are in a more 
unpleasant situation than ever. The people despise them, and the 
Government turns the cold shoulder on them, so that they live 
quite by themselves on their estates. 

After a pleasant stay in this village, I left it in my course over 
the Hungarian Plain, and was conveyed in the carriage of the gen- 
tleman I was visiting, on to the next village. Every person whom 
I ^•isited in this neighborhood, whether he was the country clergy- 
man, or a college professor, or a private gentleman, always insisted 
on my staying with him ; in fact, to do anything else seemed 
almost to be considered a want of com'tesy. No one, with good 
letters of introduction in Inner Hungary, ever goes to a hotel. 

I may say here, that such was the universal hospitahty towards 
me, as an American, that while in Hungary, except naturally in 
Pesth, I did not lodge in a hotel more than once, or pay a penny 
for hired vehicles. Wherever I visited, it was with difficulty [ 
could get away. I always stayed days where I meant to stay houre. 
They said it was an old device of Hungarian hospitality, if the 
guest seemed obstinately bent on going, to slip out and take off the 
wheels of his wagon, and oblige him to remain ! And that less 
than a three days' visit was an insult to your host !" 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 127 

This, it should be remembered, was no especial courtesy to me. 
It is the habit of the people. I had often heard before of this hos- 
pitality. I experienced more of it, because people always remem- 
bered om- American hospitaUty to the Hungarian exiles in their dis- 
tress and poverty. 

My journey lay at this time, through the country of the Jazyges 
and Cumanians, and later of the Haiducks, and in the course of it, 

I reached the village of T , which, for obvious reasons, it will 

be unadvisable to mention more particularly. It is enough to say it 
was a town in the very centre of the land, entirely inhabited by the 
Bauer, and with no nobleman owning a foot of ground in the 
Hmits. It was quite probable I was one of the first travellers — 
certainly the fii'st American — who had ever entered it ; and it was 
so far removed from the great routes, that only two or thi-ee in the 
whole population could be found who even spoke German. A better 
example of a simple Hungarian village could not probably be met 
with in the land. 

I was furnished with a letter to the clergyman, and though his 
German was somewhat limited, he received me with the heartiest 
welcome, and by the aid of mingled Latin, Hungarian, and gestures, 
we managed to understand each other moderately well. He entered 
at once heartily into my design of seeing Hungary — even the couu- 
try-hfe — and in the afternoon took me on a long walk through the 
village. 

It appeal's the Bauer here had never been, at least for many 
hundred years, under Feudal exactions. Though they were not 
allowed till 1848 to vote for members of the National Parliament, 
they had the right to elect their own town officers, and the only 
burdens upon them were the duty of military service to the State, 
and certain light taxes. Under such a systerrf, with their own 



128 THE PEASANTS— THEIR COURTESY. 

judges, their own aldermen, and managing independently the aSkii-s 
of their township, there had gTown up a very sturdy, free popula- 
tion in the village. There were no nobles there — no rich land- 
holdei-s, but there was no poverty and no sla\ashness. As I walked , 
around among them, they seemed to me hke men — free, indepen- 
dent men — more than any population almost I had ever met. 

As I learned afterwards, there are large districts in yai'ious parts 
of Hungary, where the Bauer have enjoyed such free institutions. I 
had heard that this village was famous for its handsome men, and I 
found it did not at all belie its reputation. In every part, in our 
walk, we met tall, vigorous, well-formed men, whom in any other 
land one would stop to gaze at, though here they are scarcely remark- 
able. The more I saw of this people here, and also in other parts 
of Inner Hungary, the more I was struck with the advantages to a 
nation of a free agi-icultural life. There was a richness and hearti- 
ness of feeling, a certain manhness in them, such as one would 
seldom see in a manufacturing class. A simple dignity too, and a 
courteo^^s hospitality, with a poetry of expression, such as is very 
singular and pleasing to the stranger. It was very striking here, in 
this village, to see middle-aged men, with their flowing beards, meet- 
ing one another with a kiss. Then the Bauer, wherever we visited, 
met us with such real com-tesy — pom-ed out their best before us, and 
always insisted on going out even to the last gate, to accompany 
us. 

No where did Kossuth's poetic eloquence find such a passionate 
response as among these farming-peasants of the Hungarian plain. 
Hjs appeals to the great Being who watches over the rights of his 
creatures, and whom he called the God of Hungary, seemed to 
them superhuman. As he spoke of Freedom, of Brotherhood, of the 
wrongs of their fatherland, and the disgrace of slavery, they answered 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 129 

with teai-s and with shouts of enthusiasm. Through the villages of 
Central Hungary there was scarcely a peasant who could grasp 
scythe or sw^ord, who did not march out at his call to join the 
Hungarian army. 

An agricultural population usually strikes one as inferior to 3 
manufacturing in activity of thought ; but this fault does not appear 
among these farmers of the Hungarian plain. The mces&ant political 
life and movement, through their whole history, in Hungary, have, 
beyond anything, educated the people. And one could see that 
these men had not grown dull or inactive at all in their secluded 
life. 

But especially could you observe the advantage of their pursuits 
in their full, vigorous, manly forms. It was a pleasure to look at 
men so healthy, and enjoying such a fullness of hfe, without too the 
the usual sensuality which accompanies gTeat strength and overflow- 
ing health. 

Now that I am speaking of this, I would say that I took considei'- 
able pains in Hungary to notice the diet and habits of eating of the 
people, as connected with this remarkable vigor of the race, hoping 
some useful hints might be derived for America on the subject. 
This seemed more desirable, as there is no country of Europe — as I 
have before remarked — so resembling our own, or at least the 
Middle States of our own, in climate. 

As far as I observed, the great peculiarity of the people was their 
temperance in eating and drinking, and at the same time their 
making the meals a pleasant social occasion, and not merely a pro- 
cess for filling up the stomachs. When I say they are " temperate," 
I mean they indulge in no excess ; as, in respect to wine drinking, 
there is scarcely a man in the land who does not di-ink the light 
wine at his dinner and supner. But with the Hungarian the meal- 
6* 



130 HABITS OF EATING. 

time is a time for social intercourse, wlien friends meet ; or when 
the children and relatives all gather with the parents, and have 
almost their only meriy, familiar conversation, during the day. 
They sit a gi'eat while at table, and taste of a great variety of 
dishes, at least among the better classes. Still they are not by any 
means as hearty eaters as the Americans or English. They appear 
more like the French — preferring variety of tastes to any great 
amount. Indeed, to a traveller with a keen appetite, or to one 
accustomed to the vigorous exploits of the Enghsh at the table, the 
Hungarians seem really abstemious. They make much more use 
of fruits, and salads, and curious j^uddings, and the hght pure wines, 
than we of the Anglo-Saxon race. A Hungarian would consider 
himself in danger of becoming a sot^ if he should drink every day 
the strong brandied wines which every Englishman has on his table. 
The English in Hungary, too, say it is impossible in that clear, 
oxygenated climate, to keep up their habits of beef-eating and 
drinking. 

The first meal among the Hungarians is taken at seven or eight 
in the morning, and consists only of a glass of coffee, with rich milk 
and some meagre cuttings of cold toast broken up and eaten in the 
coffee. 

This is the universal breakfast for all classes except the poorest 
Bauer. Between this and the dinner at one or two, nothing is 
usually eaten or drank. The dinner, as I have said before, is long, 
with a great variety of dishes, not essentially differing from our own, 
except that it is hghter, and a gi-eater use is made of hght wines. 
This meal is always followed by a cup of coffee. The only other 
meal is the supper at eight o'clock in the evening — a long meal 
again, with soup, fish, pudding and wine. Tea is very little drank 
in the land ; sugar and sweetened articles, too, are seldom used. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 131 

What especial theory of diet, to draw from all this, I am at a loss 
to determine. Still the facts may be useful to some who are inves- 
tigating the matter. The principal things, worthy of imitation, 
seem to be the moderation and sociabiHty of the meals, and the 
distance of time at which they are separated — the last being, no 
doubt, very conducive to health. The great cause of their vigorous 
health and well-formed bodies must be found, without doubt, in 
their open air pursuits and manly exercises, to which they are all 
ardently attached. They are a nation of herdsmen and farmers, 
and are enjoying the benefits of their pursuits. 

No account of their habits would be complete without stating 
that the whole population, from the nobleman and clergyman down 
to the lowest Bauer on the Puszta, smoke incessantly from morning 
till night. 

However, to return to our walk through the village. It was soon 
noised abroad that an American was in the village, and we found 
everywhere groups of curious gazers at the first man they had seen 
from the Western World. We called upon the Judges of the 
village, — dignified, gi-ay-headed old peasants — and everywhere I 
heard allusions of thankfulness to the kindness of the Americans to 
the exiles. One man had a picture and a long account in Hunga- 
rian of the reception of the first Hungarians in New York. At last, 
in our rambles, we were overtaken by a large two-seated wicker 
wagon, with four hoi-ses sent out by the village authorities to con- 
duct us around, in the town. Accordingly up we mounted, with a 
" crack" Hungarian driver, in short embroidered jacket, and boots 
and spui-s, on the box, and made the circuit of the town and neigh- 
borhood. 

Eveiywhere that we ^^sited, whether at his Majesty's officers', or 
in the houses of the common people, we heard the same account of 



I 



132 THE TAXATION. 



"burdensome taxation, of stupid legislation by the Government. Not 
a man — even of those who received the Emperor's pay— seemed 
contented. They declared that the object of the ministry v?as to 
completely blot out the last traces of the old independence of Ilun- 
gary. All their internal Municipal Constitution, so cheap, so effi- 
cient, which they had enjoyed for more than five hundred years, 
was utterly destroyed. They said the pettiest town officer was 
appointed by the Government — and all the higher ^officers were 
either foreigners or such Hungarians as no one had ever respected. 
Then every possible means was used to squeeze money from them 
by taxation. They were taxed personally ; taxed for their garden ; 
taxed for their house; for their wine; for their tobacco. Every 
deed drawn up must be on taxed (stamped) paper. Their pass- 
ports were taxed ; their very permits to raise taxed tobacco, which 
they themselves are not allowed to use, must pay a duty. Then, 
said they, this all comes at the worst of times, when we are stripped 
of our property by the war, and when the peasants, especially, have 
lost millions by the Kossuth notes, which the Government, despite 
its promise, has never yet redeemed, at even a part of their value. 

The result of it was, in this village, they all told me, that every 
man was limiting his Habihties in every possible way to being 
taxed. The amount of wine made there the next year, would be 
the least possible which they would want for themselves. In 
tobacco, from which the government had expected the greatest 
revenue, knowing the universal habit of the people, the yield will 
be the smallest ever known. The law, in regard to the tobacco, is 
so exacting and the duty so heavy that it will scarcely repay any 
fa -mer to sow the seed. In one district around that village they 
sa.d, where formerly were five hundred tobacco plantations, there 
are not now five I They have made, too, a patriotic matter of it, 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 133 

and the government will probably gain very little revenue from that 
duty. 

In the course of our ride a man joined us, who was a farmer on 
the outskirts of the town. He spoke German, and I had a long 
conversation ^^^th him. Though a middle-aged man with a family, 
in merely comfortable circumstances, his great desire was, he told 
me privately, to get over to America, and he questioned me a great 
deal about the expenses, and the best situation for an emigrant, 
etc., etc. In the course of the conversation I had the curiosity to 
ask hiin why he had this plan ? He was living comfortably here 
and the taxes, though they were burdensome, would not ruin him. 
It would be a hard thing for him to begin life over again in a new 
land. 

" Yes," he said, " I know it well — and it is like cutting the heart- 
strings, to break away from the old place here, and from Hungarj^ 
But I cannot hve here a slave. It is not Hungary to me if it is 
not free. As for the taxes, I could bear them though they are 
heavy. But I cannot see why I, if I am steady and industrious, 
should pay the debts of my neighbor when he is a spendthrift. Of 
coui-se I know that every state must lay taxes to support itself, but 
why Hungary should pay Austria's six hundred millions of debt, I 
don't see ! I shall wait awhile to see if no change comes here, and 
then, if nothing occurs, old as I am, I will leave the comitry. My 
country must be where freedom is." 

We rode about to the farms of a great many different persons, 
and everywhere at once, according to the Hungarian usage, the 
white and red wines were brought forth, with a flask of mineral 
water, which they all drink with wine. They appeared to consider it 
such a \'iolation of hospitality if one did not drink, that at first I 
sipped a httle at every house, but finally declined altogether, espe- 



134 SUPPER WITH A BAUER. 

cially on the score that Americans did not drink wine. At each 
house, too, as we went away the people took my hand, and wished, 
almost solemnly, the Hungarian blessing, '■'■Isten aldjon meg /" (May 
God bless thee). 

At length, in the evening we stopped, by the urgent invitation of 
a Bauer^ at his httle house to take supper. I was informed that 
there were three other places where we were engaged to take supper 
beside, and that I might as well give myself up ; and, accordingly 
with a sense of resignation, I followed the others in. The table was 
soon loaded, and though people were continually coming in and 
eating and going out, it seemed to make no difference, and dish 
after dish of good things were set out before us. The supper was 
veiy much hke the other Hungarian meals I have described, though 
of course, in a peasant's cabin, with fewer delicacies. There were 
soup, and Handel (young chickens), and Strudel (puddings) and 
formidable-looking pyramids of cakes, cut in singular shapes, and 
roast mutton with salad, and veal cutlets, with diver's other dishes, 
unmentionable in EngUsh, or with names which I have forgotten. 
Along with them, too, the usual accompaniments of flasks of white 
and red wine, and bottles of bad-smelling sulphur-water and iron- 
water. 

At the end, the Bauer and his wife handed every person a little 
tumbler with coffee, and cigars were passed around. 

The talking was very animated at table, and mostly of America, 
and the chances for the Hungarians if they should go there. 

Several of the company were government-officers, but the same 
expressions were used there which one hears everywhere, of the 
stupidity and oppression of the government, and that the only hope 
for them was to emigrate to "the fi'ee land." At length one of the 
principal men rose for a toast. He spoke in Hungarian, with 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 135 

a rich, eloquent tone, and they all hstened in the deepest silence. 
I only understood it in part, but as they translated it, it was, that my 
arrival in the unhappy land seemed ominous of good ; that I was 
one from the nation who had welcomed the Hungarian exiles in 
their suffering, and had given sympathy to their poor country, and 
that he would propose the health of two of the statesmen of my 
country, whom every Hungarian knew, " Webster (or Vebster as 
they call him), and Fillmore !" 

I was surprised enough at hearing such a toast in a little Hunga- 
I'ian village, though I found afterwards that very much was known 
indeed there of our country. 

Towards the end of the supper, in a pause of the convei-sation, 
the wife of our host, a pretty-looking, nut-brown peasant woman, 
came up to me, and kissing my hand, with a look that almost 
tempted me to kiss her, said something very sweetly and earnestly 
in Hungarian. They translated it for me. It was : " When you 
go back to your country over the waters, tell Kossuth that none of 
us will ever forget him, and say that the Hungarian peasant-woman 
sent him a God's blessing, and bade him come back soon, and save 
his Fatherland !" 

It appeal's she believed Kossuth was in America, and it shows 
one instance of what I everywhere noticed, the intense love of the 
peasantry for him, then- benefactor and orator. After much hvely 
convei-sation, we broke up, too late, greatly to my relief, for the 
three other hospitable tables which were awaiting us, and I went to 
my friend's for the night, not a little interested in these, my expe- 
riences of Hungarian country life. 



CHAPTEE XYH. 

POLITICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE JAZYGES ANB CUMANIANS. 

The next morning as we were at breakfast, a very old man came 
in just to shake hands with me, and see an American before he died. 
" Ah. ! yon are happy," said he, " you are free ! But we — " 

My friends kissed me affectionately, on both cheeks as I went 
away, and wished me " A good journey" — " May God protect thee !" 
and I answered with good wishes for Hungary and her future, at 
which they shook their heads half-sadly. 

The general feeling throughout this part of Hungary is, that this 
state of things must change, that it is impossible for it to endure ; 
but how the change is to be effected, or when it is to occur, no man 
sees. They are prostrate ; they feel their degradation ; but they 
are not hopeless. They cannot believe that their glorious old Hun- 
gary is to pass away from the list of nations. No one, however, 
supposes that a conspiracy will save it. The Hungarians are not 
the people for complotting. They are too open-hearted. They 
never could keep a secret in the most dangerous times. But the 
hope is, that there will be some terrible convulsion in foreign lands, 
and at once, while Austi-ia is occupied, or herself weakened by revo- 



HUNGARY IN 1851- -137 

lution, the whole people will burst into a terrific outbreak, the more 
terrible, because it must be the last. 

This country, through which I was travelling, belonged to the 
disti'icts of the '■^ Jazyges and Cumanians^'' and as the pohtical 
position of these tribes is quite peculiar in Hungary, I will step aside 
from my travel to give a brief account of them. 

They are supposed by the best authorities to be derived from a 
tribe called Kunen^ one of the earliest tribes who wandered into 
Hungaiy in the fifth and sixth centuries, from the great plains of 
Western Asia. We hear of them in the ninth and tenth centuries, 
as settled in the distxicts on the Southern Danube, now called the 
" Principalities of the Danube." From these, as tribe after tribe 
pressed in, they were forced into the Hungarian Plain, on the river 
Temes and the Theiss ; and in the eleventh century, they are found 
occupying all the stretch of country on both sides of this latter 
river. 

In the year 1239, King Bel a IV. granted them various tracts on 
the rivers Temes, Maros, and Theiss. 

They were a very warlike people, and were falUiig into continual 
difficulties with the tribes around. At length, however, all theii 
contests with their kindfed were ended by the overwhelming 
.incursions of the Turks, which were made so often on Eastern 
Europe, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The stream of 
this invasion swept completely over them ; their land was occupied ; 
their cities destroyed, and their young men carried off into Asia. 
From this time, even after the country was recovered from the 
Turks, they gradually lost all their privileges, and in the beginning 
of the eighteenth centuiy, they were sold, cities and men, to some 
German " Orders of Knights." However, in the middle of that 
century, the Empress of Austria, with the approval of the Hungarian 



138 THE ADMINISTRATION. 

Parliament, restored their rights to them, and in the enjoyment of 
those rights they have remained up to the Revolution of 1848 and 
1849, when the Austrian conquest swept away everything in the 
shape of right or privilege through the land. 

They are said to speak the Hungarian (Magyar) language more 
purely than any of the other tribes in Hungary. 

Their number is reckoned by late writers at about 200,000 ; and 
their provinces he scattered about hke islands, in the great Central 
Plain of Hungary, with the/ names " Great Cumania^'' " Little 
Cumania,^^ and " JazygienP 

In rehgion, the " Jazyges" are Roman Catholic, the " Great 
Cumanians" Protestants of the Reformed Church, and those from 
" Little Cumania" equally divided between these two faiths. 

However, to their pohtical position, which is quite an anomaly 
under the old Hungarian Constitution, and which, beyond doubt, 
has formed the people what they are — the most manly and inde- 
pendent peasantry in Hungary. 

In the first place, the wide distinction which existed in other parts 
of Hungary between noble, and citizen, and peasant, is not found at 
all here. The society of the Cumanians is a pure democracy — every 
man is equal with another in the eyes of the law. 

The administration of these Provinces is threefold. First, con- 
sidering the Provinces as divisions, corresponding to our " States," 
there is u " General Government" for the three States ; then a 
separate State-Government for each, and beside this, one for the 
Districts (or " Communities," of which there are twenty-five) within 
the States. 

The government of the whole is administered by a " General 
Assembly," composed of membere sent by each District, and of cer- 
tain men, who are members ex-offi,cio. This Assembly chooses the 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 139 

Members of Parliament, recalls them, and " gives them instructions." 
All resolves, affecting the common administration, are transmitted 
by this body to the General Officers, and the District Officers, 

Any communications held with these States, by other Provinces, 
or by the courts or the officials of Government in Hungary, must be 
made through this Assembly, 

The President of the Assembly is called the " Upper Captain," 
and is appointed by the Palatine, (or Lord Lieutenant) of the 
kingdom. 

Besides this officer, a few others of the higher officers are named 
by the Palatine, holding, however, only a nominal power. 

All their lower officials — Judges, Magistrates, District-Adminis- 
tratoi-s. Town-clerks, &c., &c., are chosen by themselves, in elections 
held in each district every three years, and are paid by themselves. 
In all disputes at law they are under no jurisdiction, except that of 
theh own courts, or in the last instance, the decision of the 
Palatine. 

It will be seen from all this, that they have nearly equal privi- 
leges with any body of citizens in one of our own States. They 
have their " General AssembUes," and their " District-elections" 
and " Town-meetings," and the usual privileges of the ballot-box in 
a free State — the only difference being that the Palatine exercised 
some control over them, in his right to decide who should be the 
candidates, out of a number proposed by the General Assembly. 

The great anomaly is, however, that these Cumanians and 
Jazyges have these and many other rights peculiar to the nobility, 
and yet that they are not considered at all as nobles. No Cuma- 
nian, if he were the lowest Boor of the village, was ever obliged to pay 
toll on the bridges. No one could be imprisoned for debt. No one 
could ever be forced to Feudal labor for the landlords. These piivi- 



140 ANOMALIES. 

leges were all the privileges of tlie nobility. Like the nobles, too, 
they must, at the summons of the king, join the " Insurrection^'' 
as it is called, that is, the gi'eat feudal Levy of the kingdom. A 
great burden this, too, for they vpere obliged to maintain their sol- 
diere in the service of the Crown, at their own expense, for a con- 
siderable time. 

But in distinction from the nobility, they were forced to pay a 
regular " homcrtax," to send recruits to the army, and to quarter 
the soldiere of the kingdom when it was necessaiy — burdens from 
which the nobles were exempt. They paid too a yearly gratuity of 
3,000 ducats to the Palatine. 

The whole constitution of these provinces forms one of those 
curious anomalies of which one finds so many in Hungary. That 
mixture of feudalism and republicanism, representative assemblies 
and feudal levies — -rulers, chosen by universal suffrage among the 
people as in a republic, and the people freed from paying toll, as 
if they belonged to a privileged, titled class. 

It is this minghng which is the excuse for some of the woret 
enormities of the old Constitution. The ancient Feudal Constitution,, 
with all its unjust exactions and oppressive burdens, was the pledge 
of many of the fi'eest privileges also to the nation. All feared 
before such an insidious enemy as Austria — that if one part was 
assailed, the whole structm-e would come down. 



CHAFTEE XYin. 

Pbovikce op the Haiduoks — ^April, 1851. 

Mt jom'ney through Interior Hungary again carried me to one 
of these remote villages — this time in the country of the Hai- 
duoks. 

The person to -whom I was recommended was, as before, the cler- 
gyman of the village — and having become quite hardened by Hun- 
garian hospitality now, I rattled right into his yard with my Vors- 
fann^ and instantly set about to seek him. He was in the " wine 
garden," they said, and with a little guide I went out to the garden. 
This was some distance from the town, for it appears the people all 
raise their vines in one large, common enclosure, and save much 
labor and expense by putting them under the charge of one person, 
in quite a socialist style. In the harvest, each comes out to his own 
plot and gathei-s his grapes. This is not, by any means, the only 
instance in which the Hungarians have fallen into " sociahstic " prac- 
tices — without at all knowing of what they are guilty. 

This gentleman, hke the other clergymen of whom I have spoken, 
knew but little German, but what with Latin and scraps of Hunga- 
rian and German, we understood one another very well. A fine 
specimen he was again of the Hungarian tjjpe — so well-proportioned, 



142 TALK WITH CLERGYMAN. 

and muscular — despite his inactive pursuits — with the characteristic 
jet black hair, though alas ! without the cm-ling moustache and 
flowing beard of the other Hungarians, as the Austrian Government 
has condescended to forbid the wearing those to any clergyman of 
the land, on account of their " Revolutionary character !" 

Like every one I met, he too was full of the sufferings of his 
countiy. He could speak of nothing else. The oppression eveiy- 
where ; the attacks on their dear old Church ; the attempts to take 
from them their schools and to Catholicize their peasantry ; the un- 
certainty and lawlessness throughout ; the mournful spectacle of 
their beloved country passing day by day from the list of States ; 
and every right secured by 500 years of jealous struggle, becoming 
the prey of the conqueror ; all this, even in his broken German, 
he spoke of with that earnest, eloquent way, so pecuhar to this 
people. 

He gave the same account of the attachment of the peasants in 
that region to Kossuth, which I had heard everywhere. He said 
he had seen several, lately, busy in making some very handsomo 
new sheep-skin cloaks. On asking why they were all working so 
hard, they said " they were getting ready to meet Kossuth, who 
would soon be here !" He had knov^n othere planting very early 
so as to be through with everything, they said, in the autumn, and 
" welcome Kossuth !" 

The behef is strong among the more ignorant, that he will return 
by supernatural means. Many instances of this he related to me. 
In fact, every day something of this kind came before me to show 
the wonderful hold that man has gained over the hearts of this 
people. It seems to me there is hardly any similar instance in his- 
tory. It is the attachment of disciples to a Prophet ; of the freed 
bondmen to their Liberator ; of citizens to their purest patriot. I 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 14^ 

doubt whether Mohammed, or Cromwell, or Washington ever 
gained greater influence over their followers. 

As we entered the house again, he showed me an old, broken- 
down servant, who ivould go out, when the war came into their 
neighborhood, despite all their remonstrances, and shoulder a mus- 
ket for Hungary. He had fought steadily in one of their battles, 
and declared he was all ready now to give up his old life again, when 
the time came ! 

In truth, I was at this time among the most martial people of all 
Hungary — one of the original " stock-Hungarian tribes," as they say, 
the Haiducks. Some of the finest corps of the Hungarian army 
were raised among them as volunteers, serving entirely at their own 
expense. 

I could see as I walked about among them, that their appearance 
fully bore out what was said of them — vigorous, manly-looking 
peasants, who had evidently never cringed to masters, and who 
seemed men equally formed to love their homes, and to defend 
them. My friend said that this village had been occupied some time 
by the Russians, and that they had treated every one there with the 
greatest kindness. In fact, they had the strictest oi'ders to shoot at 
once any of their own soldiere who should do violence in any way 
to the Hungarians. He said he was very much interested one 
morning to see an old Hungarian woman searching around every- 
where in a large train of Eussian wounded. They asked her, at 
length, what she wanted ? She said she was looking for a poor old 
Russian soldier who had been quai-tered upon her, and who was sent 
off in this detachment. He was very sick and without money, she 
said, and she wanted to provide him with some little comforts 
Defore he started. 

These instances of kindness from the Hungarians to the Russians, 



144 FEELING TOWARDS RUSSIANS. 

he assured me, had been quite common — and, in fact, the Russians 
left Hungary, It is well known, with much more fi-iendly feelings 
towards the nation than they entered it. The courtesies shown by 
the Hungarian oflBcei-s to their prisoners, and the exceedingly win- 
ning, poUte mannere of the Hungarians, with their bravery in the 
field, had made a deep impression upon the Russians. 

I may say here, I was surprised throughout Hungary at the little 
rancor manifested towards their old enemies the Russians. There is 
a great deal of generosity in the nature of the Hungarians, and an 
oj^en, manly enemy, with whom they have exchanged hard blows, 
they always respect. The Russians and Hungarians met really but 
few times, but when they did, it was as brave foemen, and neither 
party had anything to boast of over the other. The Russians, too, 
never-showed that contemptible falseness and duplicity which more 
than anything embitters the people against the Austrians. They 
told me that everywhere the Russians expressed their surprise at 
what they saw — " Why, the Austrians always said to us, we should 
find a set of wild, revolutionary barbarians, hating religion a,Bd 
everything good and lawful ! But we do not find it so at all !" 

An officer of the Hungarians who was taken prisoner with his 
detachment, near the close of the war, on the bordei-s of Transylva- 
nia, related me an instance of the dealings of the Russians towards 
them. 

The Austrian ofiicer had' just ordered the Wallachs to burn the 
village in which they were taken, and was about to have the princi- 
cipal " Rebels" shot on the spot, when a Russian Colonel with his 
suite rode by. The prisoners appealed to him. He at once gave 
orders that the Hungarian officers should be released and placed in 
good quartei-s in the Russian camp, and commanded the Wallachs 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 145 

who were burning the village, to be scourged through the Russian 
regiment." 

I have little doubt, if the choice could be left Himgaiy now, she 
would prefer to be Cossack rather than Austrian. 

Since leaving Hungary, I have learned through a gentleman who his, 
travelled much in Russian Poland, that the whole army of the Czar 
left the Hungarian provinces, veiy considerably tinged with the liberal 
opinions prevalent in Hungary. What a singular retribution, if the 
crushing of Hungary should work out the gi'adual weakening of the 
mighty Despotism through which it was executed ! History shows 
workings of Providence in the past equally wonderful. 

In the course of our conversation, the clergyman said to me — " On 
the sofa where you are sitting, there was a Russian officer, a Colonel, 
one night in 1849. He had been quartered upon me, and we had 
a great deal of conversation together. That evening he had been 
saying a great deal against Kossuth, to which I made no reply, and 
at last he called him " a rascal [Spitzbube) and a deceiver of the 
people." I could bear it no longer, and stood up and said, " Sir, 
before you abuse a man like Kossuth, you should know more about 
him 1" And I went on and told him his history ; his yeai"s in an 
Austrian prison, his labors without any reward to make the people 
freer and better ; how much he had suffered and how much he had 
done for us ; how kind and merciful he was ; how no man, through 
all his political hfe, could find a shade of dishonor or meanness in 
him ; how wonderful his eloquence was !" 

I spoke veiy warmly, and I remember now I noticed the clock- 
pointer had gone around some half an hour, when I finished. The 
officer did not say a word through it all, but when I was through, 
he stood up, took my hand, and said " Bar atom (my friend), I 
will never speak a word against Kossuth again." 



146 HAYNAU. 

I find, by the way, as an instance of the Hungarian generosity, 
that Haynau has been here recently, travelling through ithis whole 
region, -with no attendant except a single adjutant. They all say, 
he would be perfectly safe in every part of the country. 
' The feeling toward him is of pity and thorough contempt. He 
is crazy in the morning, they say, and di'unk in the afternoon — and 
would gladly forget his crimes in death, if that were sm-e to wipe 
out the memory of them. In the night, it is said, he sometimes 
raves and muttei-s fearfully of Bathyanyi and the noble victims he 
has mm-dered. It perhaps adds to the pity towards him, that just 
now he is in disgrace everywhere. The Court after they had finished 
the use of him, threw him aside as a dirty tool. Possibly even they 
could not stand up against the howl of execration which arose from 
every country of Europe against his brutahty and cruelty. 

He always speaks of his beating in the London Brewery, 
with a laugh, whenever it is alluded to — and attributes it to the 
exiled " democrats" from Germany and Hungary. Eveiy one knows, 
however, that he smarts yet under that tremendous chastisement, 
and will as long as the " Brewei-s of Bank Side" are remembered. 

His object in this journey which he is making now in Hungary 
is to purchase a farm. 

He says openly, " he will make himself a Hungarian !" As I 
hear, he will probably buy one of the large confiscated estates on 
the Upper Theiss, now for sale very cheap — for 100,000 Gulden^ 
($50,000) where they were once worth 400,000. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The Haiducks. 

April, 1851. 

The next morning after this conversation with the clergyman, I 
rose quite early and went out in the village. The streets were full 
of the women vrith their bright handkerchiefs over their heads, and 
the tali Bauer in their sheep-skins. It was a market day apparently. 
In walking around, I came near the church, and hearing singing, 
went in. What was my surprise to find the whole church full of 
people at this early hour, all peasants, and a most impressive-looking 
audience. There were few young men there, but great numbers of 
tall, dignified peasants, with long gi-ay hair almost reaching to their 
shoulders. It seemed like an assembly of the patriarchs of the 
nation. The women occupied another part of the church in great 
numbers, both old and young. 

They were only singing, but there was an earnestness and heart 
in it which exceedingly affected me, though the air was carried on 
from one vei*se to another by a long-continued, shrill quaver, which, 
under any other circumstances, would have been somewhat comical. 
But the early hour, the reverent, absorbed manner of the people, 
the absence of all the ceremonial and form which miafht attract a 



148 CHURCH-SERVICE. 

merely sensual woi-ship, made the whole service very impressive 
indeed. 

I heard afterwards from the clergyman, that this is always their 
custom on market days, and sometimes on every day of the week. 
There is no command of the Chm-ch for it ; the clergyman is not 
present, and it is entirely voluntary. 

I have always regarded it as beautiful feature in the Cathohc 
system, that the churches have these early public services for the 
laboring people. And certainly there are few things more calculated 
to give the stranger an impression of sincerity at least, in worehip, 
than the sight of common working-men, in the early morning, 
kneeling on the stone floor before the altar, as one sees it every day 
in the Roman Catholic churches. 

But this morning-sei"vice among these Protestants here was even 
more freed from the influence of/orm, and therefore more solemn in 
its appearance. 

The rehgious character of the Hungarian race is exceeding beau- 
tiful and striking. I hardly know how to describe it. The nation 
— though remarkably quick-witted and intelhgent — is not at all a 
metaphysical people. They have no taste for abstract speculation, 
and seem to resemble the English much more than the Germans in 
theu- practical tendency. As a consequence, perhaps, there has never 
been, through their history, any sceptical philosophy rife in the land. 
French infidehty or German rationalism have never found foot-hold 
there. One must allow that, as a general thing in the world, the 
people who never doubt, are those who are the most bigoted. But 
this does not appear to be the fact among the Hungarians. The 
membere of the different sects have lived with each other in wonder- 
ful amity. Lutheran and Calvinist, Catholic and Protestant, Jew 
and Christian, have shown one another greater charity and kindness 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 149 

than has perhaps ever been known, in the relations of sects in any 
land. Yet is the religious sentiment of the Hungarian singularly- 
deep and real. He believes in the One God, with the du'ectness 
and reverence which the early Jewish shepherds must have felt. 

There is scarcely a cottage among the Protestants in the land 
without its Bible, — well read, too. All religious exercises and meet- 
ings are very carefully observed by the population. But especially 
is this tendency seen in the popular poetry and language. The 
" God of the Hungarians " is appealed to, as the Israelites might 
have prayed to Jehovah — " their God," the protector of the nation, 
the Father of each individual. And for one, I must consider the 
high morality and truthfulness of the race as very much the result 
of this sentiment. In nothing did Kossuth show his knowledge of 
his countrymen better, than in his constant appeals in his oratory to 
their religious nature. Himself with a nature deeply religious 
some of his exclamations and addresses to " the God of their coun 
try " are among the most solemn recorded in oratory. His unvary 
ing expression, and probably feeling, was, that " God would nevet 
abandon their cause." It is a curious commentary on all this, thai 
when the Hungarian cause was finally ruined, many of the churches 
in various parts of the land, which were well filled during the most 
exciting periods of the war, were utterly deserted. The peasants 
could not believe in a God — could not woi-ship him, if he should 
allow the Austrian thus to conquer. 

One of my friends told me that he knew a parish near De- 
breczin, where, the next Sunday after the surrender at Vilagos, 
the church was entirely closed, and the minister remained at 
home. His parishioners asked him why this was. He said, 
" there could be no God if such things as this were allowed to 
happen !" 



ISO MISSIONARIES. 

However, after a few montlis this feeling passed away among 
the people, and it is a touching and beautiful fact that more 
Bibles have been sold within these last two years, since the Revolu- 
tion in Himgary, than for any time during the last twenty years, 
when, too, as is the case now, the mass of the people are almost 
beggared by the losses of the revolution, and by Austrian extortion. 
This was stated to me by the presiding membere of the Scottish 
Bible Society in Pesth, as a fact which had come under their obser- 
vation. 

Both in this \'illage and wherever I travelled in Hungaiy, I was 
very glad to hear such good accounts of the influence of this So- 
ciety and of the Scottish mission up'on the nation. As the existence 
even of this mission is scarcely known in America, it may be of 
interest to say a few words in regard to it. 

It will be remembered that some ten or fifteen years ago, the 
Presbyterian Chui'ch of Scotland sent out a deputation of clergy- 
men to the Holy Land, to see what could yet be done for the Jews. 
One of this party was the Mr. Mc Cheyne whose religious memoii-s 
have been so widely read in our country. In retm-ning from Jeru- 
salem a part of the deputation came up the Danube from Constan- 
tinople. One of them, Dr. Black, was taken very sick in Pesth, 
and lay there for many weeks unable to proceed farther. While in 
this condition, and of course somewhat neglected and sohtary, he 
was visited — by mere accident, by the Archduchess of Hungary, a 
lady of a remarkably lovely Christian character. She took at once 
a gTeat interest in him, tended him in his sickness, and furnished 
him with all the information he was desiring, about the condition of 
the Jews in Hungary, and promised every assistance in the forming 
of a mission. He returned to Scotland, deeply anxious to estab- 
lish a mission in Pesth. This was at length effected, and there are 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 151 

now two clergjonen of uncommon intelligence and talents, and of 
pleasing mannere, stationed there, especially to work for the conver- 
sion of the Jews, 

Then." labors have not been at all in vain. The Jews of Hungary 
are a very much superior race to the Jews of other parts of Europe 
Pei-secution has not degraded them. 

If I am not mistaken, the engaging of the Jews in the late Hun- 
garian Revolution is almost the &st instance in modern history of 
the Jews taking any active part in the wars of the country, in which 
they reside. There is much less dishke too, among them, of Chris- 
tians ; so that in general the missionaries found a good soil to work 
in. The results have been very happy. Jfumbers of the most 
remarkable changes of character have taken place, and many 
conversions to nominal Christianity, besides a general uneasiness 
aroused among the Jewish merchants, as to whether their mode 
of doing business, and their Hves generally, were in consistency with 
their own code even. Besides this, these missionaries have now 
nearly 300 colporteurs — converted Jews, who distribute Bibles 
through the land. They opened too, early, an English service for 
the workmen on the suspension bridge at Pesth, and after that 
added almost imperceptibly a German service, so that step by step, 
acting with great caution and judgment, they have acquired a very 
considerable influence in Hungary. Perhaps the best part of their 
work, though the least able to be put in statistics, is theh influencs 
over the Protestant clergymen of Hungary. Coming from that 
practical, earnest, religious people, imbued in many respects with 
the purest Christian spirit of their church, they have had a remark- 
able effect on then" brethren in Hungary — one which, I am per- 
suaded, will not be soon lost in that country. The gi'eat woader is, 
that they have been allowed so long to labor there, in the heart of 



152 HAl^DUCKS. 

the Austrian Empire. Probably one great cause of their safety 
under a Jesuit ministry has been the protection of the Archduchess. 
I half expect, however, constantly, to heai- of the abolishing of the 
mission by the Austi'ian government.* 



The pohtical position again of these Haiducks is pecuUar, and 
has perhaps aided in forming then* singularly independent and war- 
like character. 

A brief account of it and of their early history may, perhaps, not 
be without value. 

The first we hear of the Haiducks, shows us, that like the other 
Magyars, they were a Nomadic tribe, which had emigrated into 
Hungary from Asia. At the great battle of Mohacs, in which the 
Turks so terribly defeated the Hungarians, this tribe was dispersed, 
and became after that best known as free-booters, or paid soldiers 
under the princes of Hungary. They appear to have been em- 
ployed both as soldiei-s in the regular army, and to man the gar- 
risons on the frontier. At length, in 1605, a body of 10,000 
enlisted under the Prince of Siehenhurgen, — Stephen Botskay — 
and doing him good service, they were rewarded with their present 
provinces on the Upper Theiss, near Tokay — and with certain espe- 
cial piivileges. In 1606, another corps received similar bounties in 
this district. Their privileges were afterwards confirmed by the Par- 

* The news has just reached me, (Feb. 1852,) that these unoffending, self- 
denying men have been suddenly banished by the Austrian Government from 
the Empire, and that not even the common courtesies and comforts were 
permitted them. With delicate wives and sick children, they have been 
forced to make a sudden journey in mid- winter through the whole of Austria. 



HUNGARY TN 1851. 153 

liament, and they have remained smce in the same Province, and 
possessing the same rights, which were then given. 

As the Cumanian, so every Haiduck is equal to another in the 
sight of the law. There is no distinction of class. No Haiduck can 
be imprisoned for debt, or made to pay toU on a bridge, or to con- 
tribute to any of the usual taxes. 

He is subject to no couiis, but those of his own Province and 
then has the right of appeal to the Supreme Court [Hofffericht) of 
the Kingdom. 

All the judges, aldermen and Governore of the Haiducks are 
chosen by themselves, with general ballot. 

The Government of the Province is administered by the " General 
Assembly," whose members are chosen by a ballot, in which the 
lowest peasant has a share. 

This Assembly, as before with the Cumanians, elects the Mem- 
bers of Parliament, recalls them, and gives them instructions — (for 
which " Democratic" doctrine the Hungarians have always had a 
strong attachment). This body beside, chooses the Governor ( Ober 
Capitain) of the Province — communicates with the Eoyal or 
National officials, respecting the concerns of the various Haiduck 
cities, and provides for the general administration of the countiy. 

In addition to these powere, it has one very peculiar right, the 
" right of opposition" — [jus opponendi) — or that of vetoing any act 
either of the Austrian Government, or of the Hungarian Parliament 
with reference to them, which it deems against their interests 

The Governor of this Province had once the right of inflicting 
summary capital punishment in certain cases — and even of late 
years, was invested with much power. 

Besides the individual privileges, mentioned above, the Haiduck 
can entail his property ; and reclaim, at whatever distfince of time, 



154 THEIR BRAVERY. 

his pawned or sold ancestral estate. The time, during which, with 
them as with the other Hungarians, an entailed estate can be 
pawned, being thirty-two years. 

For all these extraordinary privileges, the only return they were 
bound to make to the State, was the payment of the especial war- 
taxes, and the fiirnishing a certain number of soldiei-s, at the sum- 
mons of the King. 

Here again, as with the Cumanians, will be observed the same 
singular mingling of Feudalism and Republicanism. Representative 
privileges and even aristocratic rights given in return for miUtary 
services. 

The effect of the system on the Haiducks has been favorable. 
They are a most brave, intelligent, free-hearted peasantry, long 
accustomed to govern themselves — and the Hungarian cause found 
no more devoted adherents in 1848, than among them. They 
furnished the best hussars of the army — as well as those cattle- 
drivers, whose terrible exploits with their whips and loaded lashes, 
were so vndely related through Europe. 

The Haiducks told me many fearful stories of these fellows. 
They said they were in the habit of killing their hogs or cattle with 
these whips, — the lash being very long and fui-nished with a lead 
ball — and that they often struck down an Austrian soldier fifteen 
feet off, with unerring effect. 

They became soon the most redoubtable soldiers in the Hunga- 
rian ranks. However, despite their accounts of the effects of these 
and similar weapons, it need hardly be said, that the most terrible 
weapon in modern warfare — and in fact in like forms in the warfare 
of all ages — ^is the simple, smooth, sharp bayonet. 

The population of the Haiducks is estimated at about 60,000 — 
and they occupy some half-dozen cities. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 155 

At tlie risk of presenting too much of dry detail, I shall leave the 
narrative of my journey again, to give, in the two following chapters, 
a brief description of the " Serfdom" of Hungary. This is the more 
important, as but little is known of the old legal position of the 
Hungarian peasantry in foreign lands ; and beside, the present con- 
dition of the country cannot be at all undei"stood, without some 
knowledge of this subject. 



CHAPTEK XX. 

The Hungarian Bauer. 

In considering any part of the old political Constitution of Hun- 
gaiy, we are to bear in mind, always, several very important facts. 

The position of Hungary for many centuries has had something 
in it entirely peculiar, bearing scarcely any analogy to that of any 
country in Europe. The nation was under the Austrian govern- 
ment, yet preserved an independent Constitution. She acknow- 
ledged the Austrian emperor as " King of Hungary," but held on 
to distinct, separate rights, which had come down from her indepen- 
dence. It is as if Mexico should voluntarily unite hei-self with the 
United States, still retaining, not only her rights, as one State of 
the Union, but many other privileges which had belonged to her 
as an independent power. . We could lay om* tariff of duties, our 
commercial laws, over her ports and bordere ; we could raise militia 
from her people ; her enemies should be our enemies, and her forces 
must take part against any attack on the Union. But farther than 
this we were not to go. We must lay no taxes without the consent 
of her legislatm'e ; our postal system, our criminal law, and the 
jurisdiction of our com-ts is not to extend over her territoiy ; and 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 157 

any gi-eat measure affecting the country, must firet be presented to 
her legislatm-e, before it could be effective ; and last of all, our Pre- 
sident, to be the legal President of Mexico, must be inaugurated 
again there. 

Such a union would be, in its principal features, a copy of the 
union which has existed for many centuries between Austria and 
Hungary. Not exactly the union of one State of a confederacy to 
the whole body ; nor, in all respects, the alliance of two equal, inde- 
pendent powers, but a connection of two countries, pecuHar and 
original in itself, leaving each side many rights towards the other ; 
and, unfortunately, adapted from its nature, to sow interminable 
contests and jealousies. 

Hungary entered on this union with Austria with her old Feudal 
Constitution still standing, begirding like some old baronial castle, 
with its antique defences, many a more modern improvement. The 
feudal provisions were formed in a day when Feudalism was the 
order of society, and were even at first freer and better than those 
of most governments in Europe. Gradually, however, in most parts 
of the continent, the kings won arbitrary power by abolishing the 
restrictions of feudalism, so that in France, for instance, there finally 
existed almost alone, two classes in the state, the King and the Peo- 
ple, the intervening class of feudal Nobility having been nearly 
destroyed by attacks from the throne. So it happened that many 
a State groaned under a completely absolute government, whei'e the 
people were entirely free from feudal service. In other words, in 
most countries of Europe, the kings were tyrants, but there were no 
legal serfs. There was no fi-eedom toward the chief master, but 
there was no forced work towards petty masters. The exception to 
this, however, was Hungary. She entered the union, as I have 
said, with this old Feudal Constitution. Within that Constitution 



158 FEUDALISM. 

were provisions, in the freedom of their character, and in their fit' 
ness for training the people pohtically, far beyond those of any 
Constitution of the age. She was united with an absolute, or at 
least a despotically inclined power. The only mode in which she 
could preserve the free institutions she possessed, and her old politi- 
cal privileges, was by holding the Constitution entire. On every new 
attack of Austria, the Constitution, with all its faults, became identi- 
fied with her freedom, with Hungarian rights. So a different 
result sprung up in Hungary from what was known in any other 
country. Feudalism was the defence of liberty, and the two strug- 
ghng classes became an arbitrary King on the one side and a 
democratic feudal Nobility on the other. The contrast sounds 
strange, but such was the anomaly which existed in Hungary. A 
nation, holding in its midst the serfdom of the middle ages, and at 
the same time, training its population to a constitutional liberty, 
such as no race, except the Anglo-Saxons, has ever enjoyed. 

I am not, in these preliminary remarks utterly excusing the serf- 
dom, which until 1848 existed in Hungary. It was — and every 
candid man must so consider it — the greatest stain in the old Con- 
stitution of that country. Even if, as I know often to be the fact, 
worse on paper, in written laws, than in practice, it still would dis- 
grace the statute-book of any nation. And the bitter results of it 
were but too sorely felt during the last war, in some portions of 
Hungary, where the peasants were stimulated by the Austrians to 
remember, not their recent freedom, but their years of oppression, 
and to revenge it in the most atrocious acts. Still I repeat, the 
candid investigator of these facts should consider the excuses for 
such a system, and make the fair allowances which we would havt 
foreign inquirere into our polity show towards similar defects in oui 
own institutions. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 15b 

In regard to the number of the Bauer or peasants in Hungary 
who either owned or occupied houses and farms, and who were 
accordingly hable to the greatest burdens, we may state it at 
about 1,600,000. The "conscription's list" for 1805, quoted by 
Fenyes and Schiltte, gives 643,215 peasants who own land (or 
Rustici, as the term is), and 783,364 who merely have a house 
and garden, or who occupy a house with othei-s [Inquilini and 
Subinquilini, i. e., cottagere and lodgers). The increase may have 
been somewhat more than the result stated above, but probably not, 
as veiy many peasants have since then bought their own freedom 
from feudal service. The usual estate which constitutes a peasant a 
" full landholder" (ganzer Bauer) and makes him subject to the 
full amount of feudal labor, is, on the average, twenty-two Jock, or 
about thirty-K)ne acres. This is called a Sessio^ and varies in size in 
different Comitate, and even in different kinds of soils, reaching in 
some even forty Jock, or fifty-six acres. The smallest is about 
twenty-two and a half acres. According to the part which 
a peasant may own of a full estate, he is called " a half," or 
" a quarter," or " an eighth of a landholder." There is only one 
Comitat or large district, where eveiy peasant within it possesses 
more than a full estate of thirty-one acres — the " WieselhurgerP 

As a kind of feudal rent for his estate, the " full landholder" 
must labor for the noble who is supposed in law, originally, to have 
owned the estate, one hundred and four days with hard labor, or 
fifty-two days with oxen during the year. Every peasant occupying 
only a house and garden, must labor for his landlord eighteen days 
in the year, and if he be occupying them with othei-s, twelve days. 
Every " estate" was formerly obliged, too, to send out one person in 
the year for a three days' hiint for the landlord, who, however, fur- 
nished all the material. This was all the labor to which the pea- 



1601 TAXES. 

sant was bound by law to his landlord — two days every week for a 
farm of thirty-one acres. He was obliged, it is true, also to build 
and repair bridges everywhere on the property of his feudal master ; 
and to furnish a Vorspann — a wagon with two or more horses — to 
the soldiei-s, or to any traveller who might demand it of the judge 
of the village. But both these tasks were generally reckoned out 
of his days of work ; and for the Vorspann he received also about 
fifty-three cents for every five miles, which was to be paid to the 
judge and written down in Heu of taxes due from him. This 
feudal labor of so many days in the year, goes by the name of Robot. 

The obligation to furnish the Vorspann, abolished by the Hun- 
garian Government, is still maintained by the Austrian, after the 
peasants aie fi'eed, as I had abundant opportunity to observe. 

The greatest burdens, however, on the peasant, were perhaps the 
taxes. He was obliged in the first place to pay a ninth of all the 
principal products of his fields, of his wheat, his corn, his wine, and 
tobacco — his hay and the products of his garden alone excepted — to 
the nobleman. If he owned a house too, whether " full landholder" 
,r not, he must pay a tax on this also, of 40 cents a year. Besides 
these taxes, all the public taxes, from which the nobleman was 
freed, came upon him. The " domestic tax" that by which the 
various officers of the Comitat were in part paid, and by which the 
expenses of the Parliament {^Reichstag) were to some extent de- 
frayed, was assessed upon him, according to his property. The 
war-tax^ too, for a certain proportion of the expenses of the war, 
fell upon him, though the greatest war-tax, in the form of the 
" Feudal levy " (" the Insurrection ") was borne by the nobleman. 

The peasants also were forced to quarter the soldiery when 
necessary, and to furnish recruits as they were demanded. A tax 
too existed in former times, of a tithe to the Catholic church. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 161 

Such exactions as these, no one can deny, were exceedingly- 
grievous. Yet, in respect to the pubhc imposts, they were much 
lessened by the remarkable economy of the Hungarian Government, 
inasmuch as most of the noblemen taking part in it paid their own 
expenses, even when membei-s of the Parliament itself; and they 
were still more diminished by the fact that no standing army was 
ever supported in Hungary ; so that it may be doubted whether 
these exactions, oppressive as they were, upon the peasantry, were 
ever materially heavier than those, which press upon the free pea- 
santry of England now. And they certainly were never so debasing 
or so annoying as those fastened upon the Hungarian peasantry at 
this very time, by the paternal Austrian government. The injustice 
was, in laying them thus on one class, and in placing one body of 
men so much in the power of another, who must naturally be 
influenced by the worst of motives in their- dealings with them. 

But the counteracting influence to this, and in fact the redeeming 
featui-e in the whole system, was in the hberty allowed the peasants 
of carrying all cases of injustice suffered to the courts of law, the 
expenses of which the landlord was always obliged to pay. In 
contests among themselves, the nobleman, as country magistrate, 
was always the judge. But when a difficulty occurred between 
peasant and landlord, the case under many circumstances must be 
brought before some other magistrate. And as Hungary is even 
more remarkable than the United States for the number of its laio- 
yers, there were always enough of these to take up the cause of the 
Bauer. And if by chance they were not present, the Amtsfiscal, a 
kind of " State's counsel " for the peasant, was obliged to plead for 
him. Then, if farther it be remembered that they all had in certain 
cases the right to appeal to the Court of the Comitat, and even 
farther, to the highest courts of the kingdom, it will be seen that 



162 PRIVILEGES. 

the Bauer, if not absolutely, was at least, well guarded against 
injustice. The lawyere, too, had a professional pride in defending 
him ; and the incessant law-cases before the internal coui'ts of Hun- 
gary, show how much judicial decisions were appealed to. In fact, 
I have often thought that the remarkable shrewdness on various 
points of law manifested by all classes in Hungary, was very much 
the fruit of these enactments in regard to the Bauer, and their lib- 
erty of seeking redress in the courts. 

There were many respects in which the condition of the Hungarian 
peasants was far superior to that of those in other parts of Austria — 
in Bohemia or Moravia, or the Polish provinces. The Hungarian 
Bauer could marry as he choose. The Bohemian must obtain per- 
mission. The Hungarian could sell, or pawn, or loan, all his 
property, movable or immovable. In other parts of Austria this 
was either forbidden or hmited by many restrictions. 

The Hungarian Bauer, too, could buy himself free from all obli- 
gations and feudal burdens, and he could — by pui-chase, inheritance, 
or otherwise — accumulate a very considerable amount of property to 
himself — even as much as four sessions, or 124 acres. In no part 
of Austria was he allowed to possess more than one session. 

In Hungary, when a nobleman's property passes from one hand 
into another, no tax is demanded from the peasantry, nor even when 
the peasant himself removes ; while in Gallacia and Bohemia these 
occasions furnish one of the gi*eatest exactions to the masters — a 
regi;lar tax of from five to ten per cent. 

It should be remembered, too, in addition, that among the pi-ivi- 
leges of the Bauer are to be reckoned — a large tract of meadow- 
land, gi'anted fi-om the estate of the proprietor ; in many cases, the 
power of collecting wood from the forests ; and the privilege of 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 163 

feeding their hogs, through a good part of the year, in the oak- 
groves of the nobleman, by paying a trifling tax. 

However, with all its alleviations, that this Hungarian Serfdom 
formed an infamous oppression, no one can deny. That one class 
should alone pay the taxes and support the expenses of a State in 
whose government it had no share — that one class must build the 
bridges and repair the roads which they were seldom allowed to use 
— that the burdens of feudal service should be continued so many 
ages, after all occasion for them has passed — is all an injustice and 
enormity, in regard to which one can only wonder that it existed so 
long. Still, as I said before, much of this was woree on paper than 
in reality ; and the effect on the mass of the Hungarian peasantry 
one must admit has not been of a degrading and debasing nature. 
In fact, to my own mind, there is no better argument that serfdom 
existed in a very mitigated form in Hungary, than the independent, 
manly bearing, of the peasants. 

There are exceptions to this, especially among the Wallachs. 
They are a degi-aded, unprincipled, lazy race, one must admit. But 
how much of their peculiar characteristics are due to earlier circum- 
stances in their history, and how much to Hungarian oppression 
would be a difficult question to settle. They are different in every 
feature and turn of their character from the other Hungarians, and 
are almost, as a matter of course, their sworn enemies, and I 
think would have been, even if no serfdom had ever existed in 
Hungary. 



CHAPTER XXI. 
The Hungarian Bauer. 

There is a veiy general impression in America, I think, that the 
Bauer, the peasants in Hungary, all belong to the Slavonic races, 
and the noblemen to the Magyar. Using the word Bauer in the 
wide sense given to it by the German writers upon Hungary, 
of pereons not enjoying political rights, it can be said with ti'uth that 
there were millions of Magyar Bauer. But employing the term, as 
I have done in these articles, merely to denote the agricultural and 
land-owning peasants, on whom feU the hea^dest burdens of the 
feudal service, it is also true that out of the million and a half of 
these, there were many thousands, yes, hundred thousands — Magyars. 
They were always, indeed, in far better circumstances than the 
Slavonic Bauer ; and were much more energetic and independent 
men. But both vdth them and the German Bauer in Hungaiy, the 
reason of their superiority did not lie at all in their gi-eater freedom 
from feudal burdens. They had quite as many Robot-days to work ; 
as heavy taxes to pay, and as many bridges and roads to mend for 
the nobility as the Slavonians or the Wallachs. Both races were 
under the feudal oppression, and the difference of characteristics in 



HUNGARY IN 1851, 165 

them, cannot be traced alone to the exactions laid upon them. The 
peasants in Siebenburgen, or Transylvania, both Wallachs and others, 
appear to have been more harehly ti'eated in former times than in 
other parts of Hungaiy. Perhaps, in that mountainous region, the 
mastei-s were fai-ther from the reach of law. The fact, too, that the 
Robot-bui'dens, in then* fullest extent, existed there, may have added 
to the oppression. The peasantiy beside were of the most bigoted 
Greek-CathoHc belief — and allowed by their priest the least possible 
education, so that, in all respects, the masters and servants were the 
widest possible from one another, and the least hkely on either side 
to be governed by good principles in their dealings toward one 
another. 

The Hungarians will not allow it, but for myself I could not but 
see, in the fearful Carib-Hke atrocities of the Wallachs there, to- 
wards there old masters, the Magyars, during the last war, a reaction. 
a passionate revenge, for the heavy oppression which very probably 
existed there previously. These atrocities were punished, and 
terribly punished — ^for the Wallachs are great cowards — by the 
Hungarians. War existed there in 1849 in its most revolting forms. 
The Wallachs hung clergymen, and the Hungarians in return shot 
priests by the gangs. The Wallachs burned the women and 
spitted the childi-en of the Magyars ; and they revenged themselves 
by destroying the Wallachian villages from the very face of the land. 
The countiy looks hke a desert, they say now, compared with its 
former appearance. This was really the only part of Hungary where 
there was a peasant-war that year, against the masters ; for in other 
portions of the country the peasants formed quite as efficient and 
patriotic a corps in the army as any other class. Indeed, we may 
say, Kossuth's most enthusiastic supportera have generally been 
from the common peasantry. 



166 TRANSYLVANIA PEASANTRY. 

Since tlie war, it has also seemed to me a kind of retribution for 
the serfdom in Siebenbiirgen, that in no part of Hungary have the 
landlords suffered such, ii-retrievable ruin from the doing away of 
tne feudal service as in that region. They held, before the Parlia- 
ment of '47, an almost unlimited sway over their serfs. Work had 
never been paid for ; even the mere renting of the cottage had not 
been customary there. The serf, according to the most exacting 
feudal law in Hungary, occupied the land in perpetuity, and paid 
his tax, as a vassal, to his master. The consequence was, when the 
feudal law was abolished, there came the most entire revulsion. 

The master had nothing, where before he possessed thousands ; 
the land belonged to the serf, and the tax was at an end. "Work 
could not be had from the peasants for money now, for they owned 
land enough of their own ; nor for love or gratitude, for there never 
had been any. such sentiments existing between them. 

As a result, the nobles who had owned no land pei-sonally there, 
are beggared ; and those who own it cannot get laboi- for it, even 
with the most exorbitant wages. In other parts of Hungary I have 
often observed, as a beautiful testimony, what the feudal connection 
between master and peasant had previously been — that the Bauer 
still, when utterly independent of his master, sought him for advice, 
aided him without expecting a reward, and looked up to him more 
as a friend than a landlord. There is nothing of this apparent now 
in Siebenbiirgen. 

As I have said previously, there has been now for many years a 
powerful party in Hungary laboring for the abolishing of these old 
feudal laws. Qf com'se there was a bitter opposition to them, even 
as there was in England to the efforts of the "Emancipation Party" 
under Wilberforce ; self-interest, pride, jealousy, all worked against 
them. Some idea of the amount of mere moneyed interest, accumu- 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 167 

Ifited on the other side, may be gathered from the following 
calcination, taken mostly from the only good statistics of Hungary, 
both those of Fenyes and Br. Schutte. 

Taking the latest estimate — and one probably beneath the truth 
— of the number of sessions on peasants' estate, at 250,000, and 
reckoning 104 days of feudal labor to each, according to the law, at 
wages of 10 kreiitzers (71 cents) per diem, though they must be 
double that now, and we have an income to the proprietors of 
4,500,000 florins (about $2,250,000), or a capital of more than 
$56,000,000, at 4 per cent, interest. Add to this the feudal labor 
of the peasants, who mei'ely occuj)y a house and garden [Inquilini 
and Subinquilini), numbering in 1805 over YSSjOOO, and supposed 
in 1848 to be more than a million, each being obhged to labor fi'om 
twelve to eighteen days in the year, and we have 15,000,000 
working days, worth, at 10 kreutzers a-day, 21 million florins, 
or a capital of 75,000,000 florins — that is, more than $30,000,000. 

Then, if we consider, in addition, that a ninth of all the crops and 
the wine and the fruit belonging to these peasants, accrued to their 
masters, we may reasonably conclude, that the total value of the 
property in Hungary vested in this feudal labor, would exceed ninety 
million dollars. This is undoubtedly a low estimate rather tliau 
the contrary. Yet this was all to be sacrificed at a stroke, if the 
laws enforcing feudal labor were abohshed. I said wrongly, when I 
stated that all this interest of property was concentrated on the other 
side against the movement ; and in that respect this movement is 
not a parallel with that of Wilberforce for emancipation in England, or 
with similar efforts in our own countiy. 

In Hungaiy, the party for the freedom of the serfs from Bobof, 
would suffer by it, quite as much as an equal number of the othere. 
They all had their own Bauer, doing them so much feudal service in 



168 RIGHTS SECURED. 

the year ; and any change would reach their incomes as much as 
those of the " Conservatives." 

It was as if the Southern slaveholders should form a paity among 
themselves for the universal abohtion of slavery. 

Naturally, as I have said, there was great opposition to this party 
throughout Hungaiy. Such a grand change in the whole condition 
of property, was dreaded even by those who had nothing to lose 
from it. The " Conservatives," too, could not reconcile it with their 
pride, that the Radical party, with the reformer, Kossuth, should 
carry out his favorite measure. The patriotic feared, if the Consti- 
tution was changed in one point, Austria would make a pretence to 
subvert it in all ; and the great mass could not endure the proposi- 
tion of loosing two hundred millions of florins, with a vague prospect 
of restitution, only for a sentiment. Besides, there was no doubt to 
any observing man, that exceedingly complicated legal difficulties 
would result from such a change. 

Many large estates were pawned for yeai's to come, on the labor 
or Robot belonging to them ; contracts had been entered into, loans 
made, large sums borrowed, all based on the certainty of the returns 
from this feudal labor. 

"What is to be done with these, if Robot was abolished ? Again, 
how could the State, with its narrow incomes, ever restore any con- 
siderable part of such an enormous loss ? With all this opposition, 
reasonable and unreasonable, the party made but little way for a 
long time. A great effort was made in the Parharaent of 1832-'3P, 
which failed, however, in its main object, of doing away entirely with 
feudal service, but which succeeded in considerably hghtening it. 
These privileges, gained here for the Bauer by Kossuth's party, as 
they are but Mttle known, and show, at least, what the tendency of 
the party was, we will give in detail. The facts are derived from a 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 169 

veiy reliable journal of the proceedings of this Parhament, pubhshed 
in Leipsic soon after its close. 

(1.) The liabihty to taxation was taken from the person of the 
Bauer and transferred to the soil, and thus often fastened upon the 
noble ; each " session^'' paying so much to the State, whether 
owned by Bauer or Nobleman. 

(2.) The occupier should have the right to sell out, not only his 
buildings and his own improvements, but also his right of occupa- 
tion, and the master could not object, under 200 florins' fine. 

(3.) The Bauer, as before, were allowed at will to leave their 
property, but the noble if he refused the " permission to depart," was 
fined 200 florins. 

(4.) The Bauer should have the right to hold his land on an 
unlimited lease ; and by paying a fixed sum to be free fi'om all other 
stipulations. 

(5.) Such bargains should be made before the Courts of the 
Comitat, so as to secure the Bauer from oppression ; and these 
were only allowed to sanction them, when they were less oppressive, 
than the old arrangement. 

(6.) In future, no estate or " session " should be divided into more 
than/o«t?' parts. 

(V.) The Bauer should be allowed a greater quantity of meadow- 
land, to the amount of 22 Joch, or about 31 acres. 

(8.) They were permitted to open a shop, and to rent one, if they 
desired. 

(9.) The tithes to the nobleman in small products, such as eggs, 
lambs, fowls, honey, butter, calves, &c., were to be entirely abol- 
ished. 

(10.) The ninths from the crops were still continued, but were 
not to be taken from the second crops, and courts were appointed, by 
8 



170 RIGHTS SECURED. 

means of which the Bauer, after the payment of a reasonable sum 
yearly, could be enthely freed from the ninths. 

(11.) The number of Robot days was preserved ; but " the long 
drive^'' (i. e., every four sessions were obhged once a year to drive a 
two days' journey, and if it was not done one year it could be 
claimed the next,) was done away with, and two days' labor put in 
its place. 

(12.) No Rohofs labor could ever again be claimed from the 
peasants, before the legal time by the landlords ; nor, if neglected 
then, could it be demanded afterwards, but it must be considered as 
done. 

(13.) If the master lets the labor of the Bauer to othere, he is 
bound to inform the latter through the village judge [Stuhl 
richter) ; and he, on the payment of a certain sum by the peasant, 
can free him from this labor. 

(14.) If the noble is proved to have oppressed the Bauer too 
much in these labors, he must give in return twice the value of the 
injmy, estimated in the usual day's wages. On the repetition of the 
offence he can be fined beside, through the accusation of the amts- 
Jtscal, (a kind of district attorney,) 200 florins, half of which goes 
to the Bauer, and half to the treasury of the Comitat. 

In addition, no landlord could henceforth have any part in 
adjudging the cases at law between himself and his peasants. But 
a new Court, composed of five pereons, not interested in the matter, 
called " Sedes Dominalis Urbarialis^'' was to sit in judgment on 
aU these cases. 

Fm-thermore, the peasants were protected from the speculator, or 
from any one able to purchase or accumulate all their landed pro- 
perty, and thus to make them mere tenants again. Neither the 
landlord nor the nobles in the same village^ nor the parish, were 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 171 

allowed to purchase the estates of the peasants. And the amount 
of peasants' estates which could be purchased by any one, was 
carefully limited. Four was the ultimum ; and in villages where 
there were forty " entire" estates, only one could be bought by one 
pei-son. Of coiu'se, such a regulation as this last, hampered all 
rapid or easy sale of lands. But the evil was probably more than 
compensated by. the protection, it ensured to the peasant against 
" speculation," or the more powerful rich. 

The great peculiarity, however, of these and other provisions of 
this law, passed by the Hungarian Parliament in 1835, was that 
the peasant was in effect considered the OAvner of his land, or if not, 
at least the " occupier" for ever, upon certain conditions. The 
landlord could not deprive him of it ; and the land, or more strictly, 
the " right of occupation" could be transmitted to his children. 
The tenants on the " copyhold estates" of England, or on the ma- 
norial estates in New York, are in an analogous position. 

These improvements in the condition of the Bauer, leave un- 
touched, it is true, the great injustice of the system — -^he forcing 
labor from free men on merely traditional claims. Still, they 
removed many of the little annoyances to them, and guarded them 
more effectually from illegal oppression. They show too the ten- 
dency of the political party who won them. And further, in my 
mind they show what the study of the whole system has shown me, 
that the vassalage in Hungary was never a Slavery. Where the 
serf could huy his fi-eedom fi-om Feudal Service ; where he could 
leave his master at pleasm'e; where he could prosecute him if 
oppressive ; where his own house and garden were as inviolable as 
the nobles' ; where strict provisions of law with keen-eyed advocates 
watching their violation, hedged round the master ; and where the 
common and legal idea of the system was, not that it was an arbi- 



172 EMANCIPATION 

traiy Despotism, but a traditional, lawful Ownership of property, of 
labor too, not of pereons ; there could be no debasing, lawless 
slavery. ^ 

It was rather a legalized exaction, like those of the English 
noblemen from the tenants, whose families have held leases on their 
estates for eight hundred years. An ownership derived perhaps 
from past conquest, but dating for unknown centuries back. An 
ownership, oppressive indeed, unjust often, but not, from its nature, 
adapted necessai-ily to degrade and debase a people, Uke the exac- 
tions of the L-ish tenant system or of our American slavery. 

These changes, then, in the feudal system of Hungaiy, wei"e the 
first great steps made by the party of reform headed by Kossuth 
and Deak and Batthyanyi. From this session of '32 to that of '47, 
they continued constantly to agitate the country vdth reference to 
this refoi'm, and many similar changes. The account of all the 
individual efforts would be hardly suitable here. I have before me 
a programme by Francis Deak, accepted by this party, of their 
political principles, and offered long before the French Revolution 
of '48, wherein the great principles stated are, " full equality before 
the law," and " an entire abolition of feudal privileges and feudal 
exactions fi*om the peasants," and " a more general distribution of 
the right of suffi-age." 

At length, at the close of the session in March, 1848, in the tide 
of enthusiasm from Kossuth's eloquence, and from the general 
efforts of his party, all these provisions, and many more, were carried 
through, and that with such a spirit and ardor that numbei-s voted 
for them, who lost their all by them. The stirring events which 
were enacting in Europe, undoubtedly gave an impulse to these 
movements in Hungary. But it should be remembered that these 
had long been agitating in Hungary ; that they were carried out 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 173 

into action when Hungary was nominally under the Austrian 
Emperor ; when she had nothing to fear from any source ; for 
Austria was powerless with her own difficulties, and the rising in 
Croatia had but just begun, and that too from a people whom the 
Hungarians have always despised in war. There certainly could 
have been no time in which the naturally confident spirit of the 
Hungarian nation would have been more secure against foreign 
dangere. 

No — no mere motive of self-interest, of fear, of cautious providing 
for dangers ahead, will alone explain that grand Act of the Hunga- 
rian Parliament in '48 — one of the grandest in the records of 
national legislation. These motives may have mingled with many 
others, as they always do in the best of actions. But let it be 
remembered — let it be recorded in history with praise — that a 
nation of noblemen, in the flush of their strength and their pride, 
in the time of their safety, with no force to compel them, abolished 
at one stroke the serfdom of millions of peasants, and sacrificed by 
this, property which they had owned, to the value of two hundred 
millions of florins. 

Such acts have not often been known in the world's history, and 
when knowii they should not be suffered to be forgotten. 



CHAPTEE XXII. 

The German and Wallach Villages. 

At the close of my visit, as I was about to make arrangements 
for starting, the judge of the village, who happened to be a Hun- 
garian, sent word that the Vorsjmnn of the town was at my service 
gratuitously, as a token of respect, my host said, to the nation who 
had so generously received the poor Hungarian exiles. Accord- 
ingly, after fiiendly farewells, I mounted into the huge wicker-wagon 
and with a moustached and bearded Haiduck on the " box," rattled 
swiftly away towards the Szathmar Comitat. 

Everywhere that I travelled in this region, I was struck with the 
gi'eat numbers of vigorous, handsome men, whom I saw. The 
women, however, as I observed before near the Theiss, are hardly 
equal to the men in beauty. I suppose the reason is to be found in 
the hard out-door work of the women, which stunts the height and 
destroys the graceful carriage and form. The peasant women 
always look very healthy, however, and have a very bright, pleas- 
ant expression. In the course of this journey among the Haiduck 
villages, I stopped for a few hours with a gentleman to whom I had 
a letter. He took me around to call upon the villagers, and among 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 175 

others, said he would show me a famous " beauty " of the peasant 
women. The cottage to which he led me, was one of the most 
tasteful in the village, with more of flowers and vines about it, than 
the others. We found the fair one, fortunately, just as she was 
entering the house with her child, and when there was no time io 
prepare. She must have divined our object, but she seemed in no 
•way disconcerted, and bandied repartees and comphments with my 
friend in the easiest manner possible. Her movement in entering 
the house had deepened the rich olive of her cheeks, and a little 
disarranged the turban-like handkerchief over her dark hair, so that 
everything heightened her naturally sticking appearance. Veiy 
tall, but with no awkwardness or angularity, her form in tine, flow- 
ing lines, eyes deep black, complexion a soft brunette, and profile 
regular and dignified, she seemed as she stood before us, a true 
queen of beauty. Peasant as she was, she convei'sed with us, as 
easily as if she were a woman of rank, and when we left, attended 
us to the gate, in the most cordial and unconstrained way. 

In the higher classes, the ladies always seemed to me — at least 
those who had passed youth — very much like our own, worn, pale, 
as if climate, or too much in-door hfe had exhausted the health, 
eai-ly. Yet more brilliant and intelligent ladies are not to be met 
with in Europe, than those of the educated classes in Hungary. 
With a certain oriental fire and poetry too, which gives a peculiar 
piquancy to their cultivation. 

With such occasional visits among the gentlemen to whom I had 
lettei"s of introduction, I continued my journey North and East. 
My route carried me at this time through some of the villages of 
the Wallachs and of the German settlei-s. 

One can nearly always distinguish at once, through Hungary, a 
German village. The streets are better planted with trees and 



176 WALLACH-HOITSES. 

shrubbery than are the Hungarian. The houses are usually higher, 
and less oriental in their style. And taking the same class of peas- 
antiy, there ai-e more signs of comfort and material improvement, 
with the Germans. 

The Wallach villages are always to be recognised, unfortunately, 
for an opposite reason. They are the dirtiest of all the dirty vil- 
lages. Their houses are the lowest and poorest of all, commonly 
with only one decent room ; the straw fences are broken down, and 
the mud walls of their cottages look soiled and leaky. In these, 
through which I journeyed, there were large fields laid out for 
Indian corn. The Wallachs eat very little meat, and corn is their 
main article of diet. Very few of the other tribes in Hungary, set 
much by this crop, as an article for the table, though it is much 
used for the cattle. I found too, that some of the Wallachs made 
a kind of tea of the ripe kernels, by boiling them ; a not unpala- 
table drink, if well mingled with milk. 

These Wallach peasants whom I saw here, and in other parts of 
Hungary, were not at all ec[ual in physical development to the 
Magyars. 

Their faces were thin, nervous, and sallow, foreheads low, with a 
sharp, cunning expression to the eyes. The hair often flaxen-like in 
appearance. The average of height must be much lower than with 
the Magyars, and the form is far more angular. Some of the 
women, however, are quite equal in beauty to those of any tribe in 
Hungary. The dress of the peasants through these villages, was 
simple enough. A long shirt tied around the waist, with a broad 
brimmed black hat, was the costume for work. In the streets or at 
the markets, there was an addition of the sheep-skin for cloak, 
heavy boots, and wide linen trousers, with a little black cap occa- 
sionally, of lamb's wool, instead of the hat. Every man too, had, I 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 177 

observed, a number of complicated mstruments in his girdle for smok- 
ing ; to pick tbe pipes, light the tobacco, cut it, &c. The tobacco 
is always carried in a small bag, at the waist, of sheep's bladder, for 
preserving it cool. 

Everything about the Wallachs shows what all ethnologists 
admit, a different origin from that of the Magyars. They them- 
selves always claim a direct descent from the Romans who settled 
here, after theii* conquest, indeed frequently calling themselves with 
pride, " RovmanenT Their language shows a great mixture, it is 
said — about one half — of words of Latin origin. 

There appeal's to be some question still among the learned, 
whether they are of Dacian origin, afterwards mingled with Roman 
and Slavic elements, or directly of Roman descent. 

Their religion is almost entirely that of the Greek-Catholic 
Chui'ch, in its most degraded form. The priests have an unlimited 
influence over them, and seem to encourage their brutal super- 
stitions. This belief, for instance, is very common even yet, 
everywhere. 

Those who are possessed with devals according to the Wallachs 
are allowed after death to return to men, in the form of vampyres, 
and suck theii" blood in sleep. To avoid this calamity, the suspicious 
corpses are unburied, and bored through the heart with a pointed 
stick, after which the pei"secuted Wallach can sleep in peace. Some 
of these cm-ious sup^retitions I will mention hereafter. 

The Wallachs in 1842 are given by Fenyes as numbering 
1,070,163; in 1848, the Hungarian statistical writers make them 
2,908,876.* 

Despite their number, they have never had any important posi- 
tion or influence in Hungary. 

* Chonawez says, 2,205,542. — Handbuchfur Ungarn, &c. 1851. 
8* 



178 SAXON OPPRESSION. 

Ignorant and poor, they never could have much weight in a 
pohty like the Hungarian. 

The gi-eat proportion of them — nearly two-thirds — resided in 
Transylvania, where they possessed eleven " Comitate," or counties. 
There is no doubt, as I before remarked, that these Wallachs in 
Transylvania had been much oppressed. 

Transylvania had always had a somewhat independent adminis- 
tration from Hungaiy, and the laws in 1835 upon serfdom, were not 
as thoroughly carried out there, as in the other parts of the common 
country. The greatest oppression seems to have been exercised by 
the Colony of Saxons upon the Wallach peasants. The peasant 
was almost bound to the soil, and the Protestant clergy of the 
Saxons were paid out of the hard-earned wages of the Wallachs, 
who belonged to another church. In the years before 1848, the 
ejfforts of the Magyars and Szeklers (a Magyar tribe) in Transylva- 
nia, were directed to bringing about an abolition of all national dis- 
tinctions, and to uniting all Hungary on the basis of a common 
representation — the only quahfication for which should be a small 
amount of property. 

The Saxons opposed this, as they desired to be represented as a 
distinct tribe. The Wallachs, too, were stimulated by their priests, 
to believe that the only object of this movement for " general 
suffrage," was to destroy the distinct existence of the Wallachs as a 
nation, and to do away with their beloved Church. All these 
causes and othei-s which I have before mentioned, united to produce 
the most bitter hostility between the Hungarians and the Wallachs. 

At length in 1848, the union of Transylvania and Hungary was 
completed, and equal rights were offered to the whole Hungarian 
people. Still, there was nothing said of bestowing on the Wallachs 
a distinct Federative position in the Pai'liament. As the war opened, 



HUNGARY IN 1851. I79 

the "WaUachs sided with the Anstrians, and, as I before have 
remarked, the contest between the two parties in Transylvania was 
the most bloody and merciless of any which raged in Hungary. 

Near the close of the war, in the very last days of the Hungarian 
Ministry, the Parhament discussed again the question of a Federa- 
tive position for the WaUachs. It was at Szegedin, on the 29 th of 
July, in the last session of the Hungarian Parliament, that Szemere 
made one of his most brilliant speeches on this subject. " The fii-st 
idea of the Hungarian Revolution," said he, " was the improvement 
of the form of Government ; the second idea was the guarantee of 
individual rights. Royalty must be done away with ; equality of 
rights and duties be expressed ; so that according to this principle, 
the service, and not the name or the coat of arms must be taken into 
consideration ; ability and not a long row of ancestor be rewarded. 
The Noble, the Count, and the Duke, must lose his crown, that all 
who dwell in the land may attain the universal crown, the crown 
which lies in these words, ' Free Citizen — Free Man.' The 
third gi'eat idea, is free Nationality. To every people shall the 
free unfolding of its Nationality be allowed — but with this idea 
always — that Nationality is not the goal of Freedom^ hut the 
means for it ! Let the National Assembly speak out upon this 
point," &c., &c. 

The pm-port of the Speech was, that in order to convince the 
WaUachs and the Serbs of the good intentions of the Hungarian 
Parliament towards them, they should offer a Federative position in 
the National Councils to these tribes, as well as an amnesty to all 
who had fought against the Hungarians. 

The proposition was accepted, and passed by a majority of nearly 
two thirds. 

It was th ' cl[osing act of the Hungarian Parlianient, and was one 



180 CONFEDERATION. 

of the last eflforts to save a sinking cause. The Wallaces were not 
likely to care for either Confederation or Amnesty then, when the 
Austrians and Russians were just giving the last strokes to the 
Hungarian party. 

It might have been more expedient, perhaps, if the Hungarians 
had offered before a representation to the Wallachs as a distinct 
nation. But it was the view of the Hungarian patriots from the 
beginning, that the only hope of forming a united, powerful Hun- 
gary, was in melting together the various tribes within the country. 
They offered to the Wallachs precisely what they did to the 
Magyars, or the Cumanians, or the Germans — an equal representa- 
tion on a small property qualification. But they alleged, that to 
permit each of the numerous small tribes in Hungary to be repre- 
sented in the Parliament, would be to form a discordant Govern- 
ment, and to prepare the way for endless dissensions. 

The Germans numbered nearly a million and a half, and yet 
never demanded any distinct National Representation. 

The only giievance too, against which the other tribes might 
complain — the making the Magyar Language the language of 
State — appeai-s never to have troubled the Wallachs. 

Most of them use the Magyar as freely as their own. 

For my own part, I think the Hungarian Statesmen quite right 
in this matter. 

If any one will imagine each one of the " Nationalities" with us 
demanding a representation in Congress ; so that the German, the 
Irishman, the Frenchman, the Spaniard, should come to look upon 
the country, not as the common country of all, but a place where 
his Race and his Language must struggle for supremacy, he will get 
some idea of the confusion and dissension which such a thing would 
produce in Hungary. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 181 

The Hungarians wanted a common Parliament, based on popula- 
tion and not on race ; where all the nationahties, without jarring 
interests, could work together for the common good. To tho 
Croats who had previously possessed their distinct provincial rights, 
or to Transylvania, as formerly a separate province, they gave a 
distinct representation. But to the almost innumerable separate 
tribes, in different parts of the country, this could not, with wisdom, 
be granted. 

The only apparent injustice I can see in it all, was in making the 
Magyar the National Language. But the Magyai-s were the most 
powerful race ; the ruhng people, as the Anglo-Saxons are iu 
America. They were the most intelligent and the wealthiest ; and 
they formed, if the Austrian census of this year be correct, a majority 
over the whole ; or if it be not, they were at least more numerous 
than any other one race. 

Their language too, is in effect, the popular language. No other 
tongue was forbidden, any more than it is in the United States ; 
but also as here, one language became the language for diplomacy, 
and politics, and society. 

I fully beheve the Wallachs were stimulated by priests and 
Austrian agents to join in those movements which were then agi- 
tating Eastern Europe — movements which originated in a false idea, 
and which ended sadly, inasmuch as they had for their object 
Nationality and not Liberty. 

I am confinned in this impression — derived from a candid study 
of facts presented on both sides — by the universal sentiment among 
the Wallachs at this time. They consider themselves deceived, 
cheated by the Austrian Government — and as I had evidence, from 
every side, they have come at length to look upon the Hungarians 
as their real well-wishei-s. Austrian oppression had aided in this 



182 CENSUS. 

result, but beside, more intimate acquaintance with the Hungarians 
since the war. In many villages the soldiere have a difficulty in 
repressing a revolt. "Wherever they can, the Wallachs take the side 
of the Magyars, and even have enrolled themselves as Magyars. 

A striking fact was afterwards related to me in this connection by 
the Austrian Director of Police for Hungary^a very intelligent 
gentleman, and a most loyal Austrian, at whose house I spent some 
days in arrest. 

The details I shall have occasion to mention hereafter. It is 
enough to say, that in the Austrian census held this year, nearly a 
million of Wallachs have given in their names as Magyars — the 
only mode in which they could express their change of feehng 
towards the Magyars and the Austrians.'* 

* I see that Schlesinger in his " History of the War in Hungary" (Vol. II. 
p. 188) , states that the Hungarian Parliament in the Jast session at Szegedin 
July 28, declared "the equal rights of all nationalities," and offered " an 
amnesty to all who had borne arms against Hungary." 

" The recognition of equal rights," he says further, " came a year too 
late, for it now merely offered a concession, which had already been secured 
them by the Emperor of Austria, and offered it, moreover, in the sight of 
their burnt-down cities, desolated villages, and desecrated graves." 

This is a mistake, which Pulsky corrects in a foot-note, though not 
clearly, 

" Equal rights" had been granted in the Session of '47 and '48, to all . 
Nationalities (see '* Acts of the Hungarian Parliament, 1847-'48, Article V. 
paragraph I. published in Pesth by Adolf Muller) before the Emperor of 
Austria had taken any measures in the matter. 

What was offered here by the Parliament, as I have before stated, was 
" Confederation," — " Representation of Nationalities in Parliament." — See 
Dr. Schutteh History, Vol. 2, p. 312'— or the '■'■ Mlgemeine Zdtung^'' for 1849— 
or Reports of " Szemere's Speech," or the " Hungarian Journals" for 1849. 

As to the " Confederation," or " equal rights," secured by the Emperor 
of Austria, the less said by any friend of Austria, the better. All the various 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 183 

As I said, these German villages, througli which I passed 
occasionally, in this part of my journey, could readily be distin- 
guished from the Hungarian. 

Still, the Germans generally, through Hungary, have mingled 
with the other races, and in only two instances, hve in separate 
districts. 

One, on the Western borders of Hungaiy, where, under the name 
of Hienzen, (or Hdnzen^ they inhabit a mountainous tract — num- 
bering, it is said, about 120,000 : And the other, in Transylvania, 
where they have founded a distinct " Saxon" colony, with about 
162,000 inabitants, and the cities oi Hcrmannstadt and Kronstadt. 

Their numbers through the whole of Hungary, were reckoned in 
1848, 1,377,484, {Dr. Schutte)—\n 1842, 1,200,327 {Fenyes) 

If the Jews, who are nearly all of German orig-in, and who use the 
-German language, as natives, are counted with them, the Germans 
in Hungary would number now over 2,000,000. 

In regard to religious sects among the Germans, the Catholics 
have the majority, numbering according to Fenyes, 859,476 ; the 
Protestants of the Eeformed Church, 10,055 ; of the Lutheran 
180,617. 

The Government has been attempting of late to increase the Ger- 
man element, by introducing colonists from other parts of Austria, 
into the confiscated estates of the " Rebels." 

The plan has failed, however, h-orn mismanagement, and from the 
utter want of confidence, through all parties, in the Austrian 

provinces, with varying interests, of the Empire of Austria, are secured firmly 
in the " equal right" to a share of the intolerable taxation, and of the 
crushing Police system. Beyond this, it does not eis yet appear, that their 
rights extend. 

For the Confederation, the last idea of it, as I write (Jan., 1852) is just 
openly rejected by the Journals of the Court in Vienna. 



184 COLONIZATION. 

Government. The constant liability, too, that the wTiole country 
may burst into another fearful revolution cheeks all immigration^ 
though there is probably no part of Europe where cheap, good land 
could so easily be bought. 

I do not believe, however, if the Ministry had been successful, 
the plan would have been especially fasorable to their interests. 

The Germans in the last " War of Independence," fought bravely 
with the Hungarians — and even these Bohemian boors would quite 
as probably side against, as with, the Viennese Ministry. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Ride Over the Puszta. 

Centeal Hungakt, May, 1851. 

As I went on in my jom-ney tlirougti Central Hungary, I was 
more and more struck with the pecuhar character of the scenery 
From the Danube, in an easterly direction, there seems to be one 
imvarying plain or prairie for nearly three hundred miles. There 
are occasionally slight elevations, as in the hills near Grosswardein, 
and in the branch of the Carpathians in the south-eastern part of 
the Bihar Comitat. But on the whole, from the Carj)athians to 
the Danube, this is the appearance of the country. I know nothing 
more grand than the aspect of these vast plains, sometimes covered 
with a short grass, and dotted with immense herds of cattle, which 
appear hke mere specks in the distance ; and sometimes green with 
wa\"ing grain to the very verge of the horizon on every side. They 
are like the sea in gi-andeur, but with the marks of the labor and 
the Life of the land upon them. Sometimes I would ride for hours 
and houi-s without seeing house or spire or tree anywhere, the only 
object to break the ^iew being the tall well-pole, which shows, every 
few miles, the solitary spot in the neighborhood where water is to be 
found. Then \'illage spires would loom up in the distance, and I 



186 PRAIRIE-SCENERY. 

would ride on toward tliem, a whole day almost, without reaching^ 
them. In my ride towards Debreczin, this species of scenery espe- 
cially met the view everywhere. I laid myself back on the piles of 
cloaks and hay — bundles which made the seat in the wicker wagon 
— the vorspann of the last village, and fully enjoyed it. There was 
no monotony in it. The change of vegetation in every new dis- 
trict, the verdure eveiy where, and the grandeur of the scene, seemed 
to take away all sameness of appearance. 

At one time we passed great herds of the white cattle, looking as 
fi'ee as the plains which they stepped over so proudly ; then large 
flocks of sheep, and then swine in almost countless numbers. 
Every now and then, too, droves of horses swept by. In another 
part we entered on a country still more desolate, with immense 
marshes stretching out on every side, and nothing of life except 
countless flocks of wild birds ; cranes and ducks, and " divers" 
among the reeds, there on a bank a vulture tearing some carrion to 
pieces, and now and then the bald eagle or the hawk flying heavily 
by us, scarcely any of them stirring at our approach — a lonely, deso- 
late scene enough, a part of those immense marshy districts in Hun- 
gary, whose drainage, under an eflScient agriculture, would reclaim 
so much good land, and which now are the causes of such deadly 
fevers and diseases. Beyond this we traversed a pleasanter tract, 
where the Indian corn and the rape-plant, with its yellow flower, 
and the green wheat, filled the view on every side, with now and 
then the green acacias and shrubbery of a farm-house looming up 
like an island in the distance, and the tall, dark figure and white 
head of the stork, stepping daintily along in the grass, showing the 
neighborhood of houses. This bird, by the way, no peasant, man 
or boy, will ever shoot, and you see his nests on almost every gable 
end in some of the villages. Many of the peasants believe, it is 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 187 

said, that if the stork is shot, an evil spirit would come at night 
and put a firebrand in the thatch. 

It added to my interest in all this ride, to remember that these 
gi-and plains, this half nomadic, half agricultural hfe here, was the 
cradle and the nurture of the Hungarian race ; a race destined yet, 
as we hope, to take a no mean place among the nations of Europe. 
It seemed to me I could see the explanation of the peculiarities of 
the people as I passed through these plains. Their free, generous, 
magnanimous nature, seemed the natural result of this open, free 
life, where their bodies were invigorated by the healthiest pursuits, 
and where there were none of the intense, selfish struggles of a more 
civihzed life. Their beautiful poetry of feeling, their exaggeration, 
which comes before one all the while, appeared more consistent 
with this grandeur of scenery, this vastness of view everywhere. 
Their Oriental hospitality and dignity of manner, their Oriental fire 
too, and sudden hstlessness, was characteristic of this nomad life 
and this chmate of sudden extremes. 

In my conversation with all the common classes, I had con- 
stantly observed a certain coarseness of expression, and it struck me 
here that this was only another of those traits, which from the time 
of the Jews, downwards, have been the pecuUarities of a Nomadic 
people. 

Their religion too, their reverential Monotheism, I might call it ; 
their awe-struck worship, which even the wild Csikosses, or cattle- 
drivers, show when they enter the churches ; which appears in all 
of their popular poetry, called up to mind the solemn and lofty 
Monotheism of the Jewish shepherds among their flocks, or the 
simple adoration of " the one God," among the Arab herdsmen in 
their deserts. Is there indeed something in this life, amid flocks 



188 ORIENTAL TRAITS. 

and herds, on the grand plains and under the clear starry heavens, 
which tends to a more realizing, simple worship ? 

Such were my thoughts as I rode along ; and whether they were 
correctly founded or not, certain it is, that this people is essentially 
an Oriental and Nomadic people, with none of the peculiar charac- 
teristics which mark all the families of nations in Europe, if we 
except, perhaps, the Celtic. The Hungarian is no merchant. The 
Jews and the Germans have already taken all the " business" of the 
country, almost, into their own hands. His place is either with the 
flocks and on the farms, or in political life, to which cii'cumstances 
have trained his race so long. He is no dweller ill the mountains. 
The whole mountainous barrier of his land is occupied by other 
tribes. He loves the plain, the life with his horse, the easy work on 
level grounds, the tending of animals. But in clearing the hill-sides, 
in making his mountains inhabitable, in penetrating the wild dis- 
tricts, he has, thus far, done Httle. 

His very villages have a tent-like aspect — houses of but one story, 
pitched here and there, as his fathere, the Huns, or some Asiatic 
tribe, might have placed their first tents. One would say that the 
race showed the Oriental indolence also, if one looked merely at the 
bodily work done by them. 

But when we consider the pertinacity, the steadiness, the unceas- 
ing activity with which, for five centuries, that race has defended its 
Constitutiouj and resisted even the slightest encroachment of Aus- 
trian despotism — when we remember how, in the midst of tyrannies^ 
they have built up and maintained, through war and through 
peace, through times of enthusiastic loyalty and times of rebellion, 
against flattery and against opposition — a representative constitution, 
which, in the completeness of its detail, in the activity it inspires, 
forms one of the best self-governments the world has ever seen, wo 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 189 

must admit that, in intellectual and moral respects, the race is not 
surpassed by any existing, in energy and perseverance. 

The higher classes, are lazy in work of the hands, but not in work 
of the head. And they have certainly shown in political life the 
same traits — the English-like " grW'' and steadiness — which, in other 
circumstances, would make them equally successful in more material 
work. 

As I continued on my journey, the same wide-stretching Pusztas 
filled the view, as before. Not the least original feature of the 
scene, to me, were the tall peasant-herdsmen who were accompany- 
ing each herd, in the plains. All were tall, vigorous men, and as 
they stood wrapped in their large white sheep-skins, watching the 
flocks, they seemed more hke chieftains in the desert, than cattle- 
drivers or shepherds. That universal garment, the sheep-skin, forms 
their only covering Summer and Winter — and, rolling themselves 
in that, they sleep these Spring and Summer nights, safely, amid 
the dews and rains, on the ground. Most of them have a little 
donkey with them, with provisions and wine, and with this they 
follow the flocks wherever they go. Each one, too, has his little 
body-guard of the long-bodied white dogs — the peculiar dogs of 
Hungary. It appears that in every town and village, the people, 
in order to save the expense of a separate herdsman for each flock, 
unite and send out their horses and cattle under the care of a 
few of these herdsmen, to the Pusztas, and leave them there for 
the Summer, 

The same thing is done, too, with the swine and sheep. In the 
Autumn, or when they may happen to need them, they are again 
di'iven in, and either killed or sold. The same community of man- 
agement too is apphed — I have before remai-ked — to their vine- 
yai-ds. 



190 HUNGARIAN ROBBERS. 

These cattle-di'ivers or herdsmen have naturally a wild hfe of it. 
They live on the Pusztas, near Debreczin, often the year around, 
with their herds — and sometimes for weeks are scarcely ever off 
from theii' horees, except to sleep. They have become often a half- 
savage race, yet with a peculiar romance and chivalry about them 
which has always made them the favorite subject of the Hungarian 
popular poetry. 

Their wants are very little, as they live mostly on pork-fat, (speck) 
cooked with red pepper, and on wine, with sometimes the addition 
of a stew of beef, in an enormous kettle, from which they pluck out 
the pieces and eat them half raw. Yet, despite this, they have fre- 
quently been the most notorious robbers in Hungary — apparently 
robbing from the mere love of the adventure of it, and always taking 
the rich as their victims. Their feats in stealing horses, in daring 
attacks on wealthy traders, are the especial themes of the Hungarian 
ballads, and quite remind one of the exploits in the Robin Hood 
ballads in English literature. These herdsmen have often formed, 
in the distant Pusztas, or within the entangled forests on the right 
bank of the Danube, formidable robber bands, such that the force of 
law could not easily reach them. It is only within five yeai-s such a 
band existed in the Balconyer Wood, under Rosza Sandor, which 
defied all the efforts of the local magistrates, and plundered with 
impunity. Sobri, too, before him, was equally famous, and equally 
able to brave the law. It is a curious fact, that when the revolution 
arose, all these robber bands offered their services to the Hungarian 
Ministry, and did good and brave work, as guerillas, through the 
war. I have been with an officer who was present when Sandor 
came to offer himself and his band to Kossuth as a guerilla corps. 
It is said Sandor became quite as distinguished in his onslaughts 




Cattle driver of jIlg Rissta. 



HUNGARY IN 185i. 191 

on Austrian convoys as lie had formeriy been in those on peaceful 
traveUei-s. 

The report was in Hungary, that even now the remnants of these 
bands, and numbers of disbanded soldiers, had formed almost an 
army of maraudei-s, in the Bakonyer Wood, near the Flatten Lake, 
so formidable that the Austrian military had been utterly unable to 
extirpate them. 

As I approached, in this journey, the country around Debreczin, 
it became more evident I was coming near the great swine and cattle 
market of Hungary. The droves of animals on the plains increased 
in number, especially of the short-legged breed of hogs, which they 
call " the Turkish." This is usually of a color partly gray and partly 
a reddish brown, with a mixture, too, of curled hair and bristles over 
the back. An odd-looking species, but said to be very tough to 
their climate, and to give a very excellent fat ; though not equalling 
the fat of the other species — the " Hungarian." The trade in hogs 
is by no means an unimportant one in Hungary, though the swine 
from Bosnia and Wallachia are driven in on the pusztas here, so 
much that it is somewhat difficult to give the exact amount. The 
number of hogs exported in 1845 amounted to over 350,000, and 
the internal trade is, of coui-se, much more considerable. The pecu- 
liai" breed of sheep, too, which is found near Debreczin, began to 
show itself — a cross with the Merino — with long silky wool and 
curious-looking, spirally-twisted horns. The wool of the Hungarian 
sheep is exceedingly valued all through Eastern Europe, and after 
the wars of Napoleon's times, the very profitable exports of this 
probably saved the mass of the small farmers from great embarass- 
ments in money mattei-s. Great attention has been paid to im- 
proving the breeds. 



192 BREED OF HORSES. 

. Many of the noblemen have devoted much labor to introducing 
new varieties, especially the Merino breed. 

Counts Kdrolyi and Hunyadyi have distinguished themselves in 
this. 

They are indebted for the fii'st introduction of the Spanish breeds 
to the Empress Maria Theresa, who was one of the few sovereigns 
of Austria, that have really labored for the advancement of Hun- 
gary. 

The export of wool before the Revolution averaged nearly 240,000 
Zentner — or about 2,880,000 lbs, yearly. This part of Hungary 
was famous too, they told me, for its genuine Hungarian horses ; 
and the plains, as I rode along, seemed certainly well-stocked with 
them. This breed — quite as much used by the peasants as by any 
— is dh'ectly descended from the Tm-kish and Asiatic stock — a fine- 
limbed, deep-chested breed, though small, and more adapted for 
light cavalry than any very heavy work in war or peace. Except in 
the best studs, these horses are almost always very ill-kept, and do 
not give one much promise of speed, as the Bauer tackle three or 
four of them abreast to the old wicker-wagons. But they are nearly 
always fleet animals, and are the most enduring horses, and the 
most toughened to heat or cold of any bi-eeds which they have in 
Hungary. 

At the close of my journey, near Debreczin, in the long and hot 
plains which surround it, it seemed to me for some time that I was 
approaching a large body of water — looking almost precisely the 
same as the wide inundation on the Theiss which I had seen further 
west. I lay back and watched it for some time ; the bright spark- 
hng of the water, the islands which rose from the waves, and were 
reflected in the still surface, the shrubbery on the banks, half- 
covered with the overflow — and wondered to myself what it could 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 19? 

be — whether that most crooked of all rivers, the Theiss, had at last 
wound itself around here, and met me again in front, after I had 
crossed it a hundred miles behind. 

I mustered up my Hungarian, and asked the Kutscher for the 
Tisza. He pointed, however, in another direction, and I remem- 
bered that this was probably that beautiful Mirage of the plains, of 
which I had heard : not one of the least interesting featm'es of 
these singular Hungarian Pusztas. 

9 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Debreczin. 

May, 1851. 

As I entered Debreczin, after my journey over the Pusztas, I was 
struck at once with the singular appearance of the town. It seemed 
as if it might be a city of 150,000 inhabitants, for, as far as the eye 
could reach, on every side, one could see long rows of buildings, but, 
though neat and well-built, scarcely any house was more than one 
story high, and the streets were as broad as in our New England 
villages. There was no paving in the streets, and very often none 
on the walks. No grass, too, anywhere, or trees, except once or 
twice, in the roads, so that as you looked down the roads between 
the houses, you saw nothing but a bare space of mud, reaching from 
the fences on one side to those on the other. I was comparatively 
dry when I arrived, and there were only one or two dangerous- 
looking pools in the carriage-ways ; but in wet weather, I could 
well believe what they told me, that the streets are nearly impass- 
able, with a foot and a half to two feet of mud in them ! and, as 
they asseverate, with such immense pools of water, that wild ducks 
have been seen swimming leisurely about in the streets of Debreczin 
city. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 195 

Despite that great extent of the town, owing to the mode of 
building each house very long and low. the population only numbers 
some 55,000. 

As I entered, the walks were swarming with sturdy-looking 
peasants, who had come into the market, and with women, who 
lir.d been drawing water at the fountain out of the city. By a 
curious chance, these all carry the water in urns, made after the 
exact form of the old Grecian and Etriiscan vases — so hke, that one 
could almost think he discerned the diflferent ages in the black 
potteiy with red figures, or the red with the black. They carry 
these on their heads, as the classic maidens did, or sling two by the 
handles, over their shoulders, altogether in a remarkably picturesque 
style. 

Whatever may be said of the outside of Debreczin, no stranger 
could see the inside, without acknowledging that such genial, hospi- 
table homes are scarcely to be found in any land. There is a 
heartiness, an overflowing hospitality about the people, such as 
quite puts to shame the colder politeness of the more polished 
races. 

The want of taste, which is much too %'isible throughout the city, 
is not at all so apparent within the houses, which are arranged and 
furnished often very prettily. Indeed, there seems a style of archi- 
tecture in many of them quite peculiar to the place, what I might 
call the crypt-style — the parlors, or dining-halls, are built with 
arches running up to the centre of the room, and supported on 
low column, and sometimes on several low columns, so that, with 
the walls prettily painted with fanciful figures, like the old classic 
walls, they make a veiy picturesque appearance, and are, besides, 
very cool for their hot summei-s. It was odd enough, finding 



196 AGRARIANISM. 

unconscious classic imitations in the gi-eat swine market of Hun- 
gary. 

The appearance of the Debreczin population has something in it 
very comfortable and substantial. In all the fifty-five thousand 
there is not a noble, but there are no beggai-s. The wretched-looking 
Wallachs, or Raizen, who haunt the streets of Pesth, are seldom 
seen here. The great bulk of the population are Bauer, but inde- 
pendent, vigorous fellows, who seem as if they never had been, and 
never could be, under any Feudal domination. Indeed, that is 
the fact, as far as their past history is concerned, Debreczin is a 
" free city," and, as such, was never liable to any feudal exactions, 
and was represented as a corporation in the Parhament. Some of 
the richest Bauer of the kingdom lived there. My fi-iends showed 
me several of the finest houses of the city, which had been built and 
owned by "Peasants" — that is, by men deprived of all general 
poHtical rights, and belonging to the same class which, in the other 
parts of the country, were subject to feudal labor. 

The prosperity and intelligence of the whole population seem to 
have always been very remarkable. They all agree there is no 
poverty there, and the Protestant Bishop [Superintendent)^ who 
knows the people well, said to me, that, to his knowledge, there 
were not a hundred people in the city who could not read, and that 
in his diocese, reaching over all the country in that neighborhood, 
and containing 800,000 souls, there were '70,000 children -in the 
schools. Many of them seemed to think that the peculiar prosperity 
of Debreczin arose fi'om a cmious old agrarian, or rather Jewish-like 
provision of the law, that no citken should otim in land more tlian 
120 Joch, or about 168 acres. His property in money or houses 
w; not limited, but ^his was to be the extent of his landed pro- 
p ty. A sin ular provision to have arisen here, where the ideas 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 197 

either of the Mosaic landed law, or of French Socialism, were never 
in any way thought of. I was curious to know about the details. 
It seemed to me a gi-eat variety of difficulties would arise. Each 
contract must be inspected, to know that no more than the legal 
amount of land was piu'chased. There must be clerks and books, 
and a great administration, to keep an exact account of each man's 
estate. There could be no rapid buying and selling, and business 
must be exceedingly hampered by such regulations. Then what 
was to be done with the estates which, by inheritance, had reached 
an illegal size ? 

They answered — and I think very sensibly, as far as their cir- 
cumstances are concerned, that business was impeded, it was true, 
and that no great fortunes were made there, but they thought that 
more than counterbalanced by the general comfort and contentment. 
People were never very rich there, but they were never very poor, 
they said. There were very small landholders there, who could not 
probably, in the woi-st of times, lose all their property. There was 
very httle temptation in buying and selling land for business 
pui'poses and people lived more comfortably on the whole. They 
had seen enough of the evils of overgi-own estates, in other parts of 
Hungary. As for the administration, there was no difficulty, they 
said. No purchase was legal which was not made known to the 
town-clerk ; he had the amounts of landed property belonging to 
each citizen registered opposite to his name, in a book for the pur- 
pose, and the whole was settled in a moment. If more than his 
legal share was inherited by any pereon, the overplus accrued to the 
city ; though where, exactly, the dividing line would fall in such 
cases, whether across the good acres or across the bad, they did not 
state. However, so much for the fact of Hungarian '■'■ agrarlanismr 

As another somewhat " Socialistic" tendency, I may mention — 



198 MANNERS. 

what I had previously noticed in other parts of Hungary — the plan 
of feeding all their cattle, and raising their vines in common. The 
cattle and swine, numbering many thousands, are driven out in the 
spring — each marked with the owner's mark — to the prairies 
belonging to the town, and are there fed and taken care of by the 
cattle drivere, at the expense of the owners, till the autumn, when 
they are brought in and reclaimed. Each person, too, who pastures 
his cattle in this way, pays a certain rent to the city. In the same 
manner, the vines are grown on one common field, attended by a 
few vine-dressers who are employed by the whole body of those 
owning parts in the field. They seem to have fallen into all this, 
not from any theory, but because it happened to be a convenient and 
much cheaper mode of managing their affairs. Of course it all saves 
a great deal of labor and expense ; though how they avoid the 
quarrels and disagreements which usually attend such partnerships, 
I did not satisfactorily learn. 

Debreczin is not at all an aristocratic place, or remarkable for its 
polished society in Hungary. Still, the manners of every class of 
people are the most singularly courteous and polite. As I walked 
through the streets with the friend whom I was visiting, it really 
seemed as if he kept his hat all the time in the air. Not the easy 
nod of the English, nor our faint gesture towards the hat, even to 
the most common acquaintance, but a real waving of the hat in the 
air eveiy time he met any one he knew. Even he was forced to 
confess, it would be a great saving in hats if they were a little less 
punctilious. Whenever, too, we had called on an acquaintance, 
and were taking our leave, the ceremonies of parting were really 
burdensome. Fii-st, we all shook hands in the parlor, and wished 
each other " God's protection," as if we were separating for a long 
journey, and the old sei'vants would come forward often to kiss our 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 199 

hands ; then the gentleman puts his arm under mine — as the 
stranger's — as if for a half support, and accompanies us to the door, 
where the same farewell, with the shaking of hands, is repeated ; 
then we all go on together again to the outside gate of the yard, 
where we wave our hats, grasj:* hands, and finally bid adieu. 

This, it must be remembered, does not seem at all affected, or 
" put on," for the sake of gentility. It is their mode of expressing 
kind and hospitable feehngs. 

At dinner, too, after we leave the table for the coffee, we all bow 
to one another, and wish a solemn salutation ; and in many families 
the daughtere come forward and kiss the father's hand. 

Their salutations, too, have something dignified and oriental in 
them. " God be with you ! — God protect you ! — God watch over 
yoiiP'' — instead of the servile " Unterthdnigster Diener" {inost 
humble servant!) or " Servus I" so much in vogue in Vienna — 
though these are beginning to creep in, in the most polished Hunga- 
rian society. Wherever I went, having a most unfortunate black 
European hat, never worn here, I was at once known as a stranger ; 
but it was pleasant to find even the common peasants saluting me, 
politely, as if in welcome. 

Thi-ough all the Hungarian society there is, even in this time of 
national depression, a kind of exaggeration, I may call it, of violent 
expression of feeling, to which it takes some time for a stranger to 
accustom himself. There is nothing at all like it in European or 
American society. A natural, passionate eloquence, and a kind of 
outre mode of expressing their feelings, which would be altogether 
out of place and afiected with us, but which does not seem at all 
singular after a little wloile among them. I have been in a most 
sensible and cultivated family, where all the ladies were dressed in 
black for their countiy, and where they wore small iron bracelets — 



200 MEMENTOES. 

almost as heavy as handcufls — on their wrists, in memory of the 
sohtary prisoner of Arad and Temeswar. 

I have seen, too, often in Hungary, bits of the brooms with 
which Haynau was beaten, brought over by some one, put up in 
handsome gold settings, and worn as pins by the ladies! And 
there is scarcely a family in the country without the little bracelets 
worked by the Hungarian prisoners, and marked with the first 
letters of the names of the Generals vyho were executed by the 
Austrians, in this way—" P. V. D. T. N. A. K. L. S."— which can 
also be so read : " Pannonia Vergisst Deinen Tod JVie ; Als 
Kldger Lehen Sie /" (Hungaiy forgets thy death never ! As 
accusers they shall live !) It is a penal offence, by the way, wear- 
ing these now. 

As I said before, aU this would seem an exaggeration elsewhere, 
but here, where you know the j^eople have done and saffered so 
much in the cause which they now are commemorating, you quite 
forget the singularity. I, too, connect it with those fervent, eloquent 
tones with which almost every Hungarian speaks of his country's 
wrongs, and which thrill yet in memory on my ear. It would be 
diflficult for any one of the cool Anglo-Saxon blood to credit the 
instances I met with constantly here of this intensity of feeling, on 
political matters. It is well known that at the treacherous surren- 
der at Vilagos, many of the private soldiei-s shot themselves through 
the brain in the bitterness of their despair. The number of cases 
of insanity after the Austrian victory, beginning with that of one 
of their most lamented and distinguished leaders would be in- 
credible. 

Does not all this seem to speak of a far more passionate, excita 
ble natui-e, than anything which we ever behold among our North- 
ern races ? And it must be remembered, if we would underetand 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 201 

the Hungarians, that this excitement and enthusiasm for their 
country have been no transient, sudden gush, hke the Italian. It 
has flown on now for many centuries — even deeper and stronger 
during their disasters. The almost dramatic coolness and bravery 
■\vitn which the Hungarians died on the scaffold and the gallows, 
after this late Revolution, would hardly be credible. There were 
several instances of insanity previous to the execution, but not a 
solitary one of fear during them. Many went forth before the file 
of soldiers, with a cigar in their mouth. One of the bravest of the 
thirteen generals shot at Arad, was reserved to the last, while the 
othere were executed. " / was always first in the attack^'' said he, 
" why am I last here .^" 

I have no doubt, from all which I saw this year, that the national 
exultation and enthusiasm before the Revolution, as travellers say, 
were altogether unbearable. Probably never in the history of the 
world, unless during the first years of the great French Revolution, 
was there seen such a grand national excitement. 

An instance of this peculiarity of the Hungarians, occurred to me 
at this time. 

There was a large and refined dinner-company assembled, of 
people who had travelled much, and were not at all narrowed in 
their ideas to the Hungarian measure. We had been chatting 
pleasantly at the meal, when suddenly the host arose — a courteous 
and dignified old man, with head whitened, and forehead furrowed 
by the sufferings of himself and his family, in the Hungarian cause, 
and proposed the health of " their American guest," and accompa- 
nied it with a speech ; I cannot remember it exactly, but he spoke 
in deep, feeling tones of the sufferings and degradation of their 
coimtry — of how much they had hoped for her, and how much was 
lost — of the gloomy future for them and their children, for years to 



202 TOAST AT DINNER. 

come. Then he alluded to the exiles—" Sir," said he, " when our 
countrymen were beggared, and homeless, you Americans sheltered 
them — ^you have opened your houses to them — you have given 
them money and land — and most of all, you have remembered that 
they were sufferei-s in the same cause with you — you have given 
them your sympathy. May God bless you and your country for 
this ! I am but an humble Hungarian, but tell your countrymen 
from me, that if there is any man in this land who will not open his 
hearth and home, and all he has to the American stranger, he is 
not ivorthy to be called a Hungarian /" 

It was the very company which you would expect not to show 
any signs of feeUng ; polite, accomphshed, nearly all " people of the 
world." Yet whether it was the appearance and tones of the old 
man, which seemed to speak of the nameless sufferings that had 
beaten over him ; or whether it was the thought of the unhappy 
fortunes of their country and of the homeless exiles, I could not 
avoid noticing, in the solemn stillness after the speech, that the tears 
were coursing down many a cheek. 

When would ever an Anglo-Saxon dinner-party, gentle or simple, 
allow itself to be caught away, into such an indulgence of feeling ? 



CHAPTER XXY. 

The Protestant Church in Hungary. 

On my very first arrival in Hungary, in the spring, I discovered 
a state af affairs among the Protestants so remarkable, as to excite 
at once my strongest interest ; and such as I knew, if well under- 
stood, would call forth the deepest sympathy from the whole Pro- 
testant Church of Europe and America. 

All that I then heard has been confirmed by what I have 
seen since through the country, and especially by what I have ob- 
served here in Debreczin, the central point of the Protestant influ- 
ence. I shall stop the course of my narrative to give some 
account of it. 

The information first came to me, in the following manner : 

I had had, among other letters, a letter of introduction to a cler- 
gyman in Pesth, perhaps the most prominent preacher and oratoi' 
in Hungary, at the present time. Soon after reaching the city I 
presented it to him. He received me in a very friendly manner, 
but as soon as he found out my objects he rose and came towards 
me with singular warmth, and said : 

" You seem to me like a inessenger from heayeu ! It was only a 
9* 



204 DANGER OF THE CHURCH. 

day or U\o since •we clergymen were consulting as to what could be 
done for our Protestant Churcli in Hungary. Did you know, sir, 
that the last flicker of Protestantism is going out here, on these 
Hungarian plains — and when it is gone there will not be a glimmer 
of the pure faith all through Eastern Europe ? We have had a 
church which has stood for three hundred years under disasters 
and pei-secutions, but it seems as if she were going down now. And 
we do not know what to do; we are not allowed to petition the 
Emperor, and even if we should present a petition it is doubtful 
whether it would be of the least use to us, with the present influ- 
ence which surrounds him. "We had thought of sending deputies to 
England and America to let the churches know our great need, but 
it would be exceedingly difiicult for them to obtain the permission 
from the pohce to go. And if they did obtain it, it is not probable 
they would ever be allowed to come back again. And then our 
means ai-e so small, and we are so watched that it will be very hard 
to carry out any such plan. But it is possible, that through you 
we can get the matter before the American public. It is almost our 
last hope. 

I listened with the greatest interest, and promised heartily to do 
all that I could. 

The great part for me was to get hold of the facts. Accordingly, 
I met for two successive evenings with the clergymen from Pesth, 
and the neighborhood, and they laid open in detail for me, the 
history of the church, and especially its present constitution, with the 
attack which the Austrian Government is making now on its very 
existence. The requisite documents, too, were given me. 

My gi-eatest regret is, that these clergymen cannot plead their 
own cause in America. For they are the very men to be loved by 
our counti'ymen. They are peopWs-preachers, emphatically ; men 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 205 

of rich powers and of cultivation — but beside with a certain " lohoU 
hea7-tedness,^^ a ceitain social, witty turn — and a sturdy ixianliness, 
which do exceedingly win favor in our land. They are men, too, 
who would sacrifice, and have sacrificed all, without a thought of 
repining for the great cause to which they are pledged. 

It might be thought, as so Mttle has ever been heard of the Pro- 
testant Church of Hungary, that it had had a very quiet, pleasant 
existence, and had escaped the storms which have given such deep 
root to the other churches of Europe. But it is not so. Whatever 
vigor it has, comes from its struggles ; its whole history has been a 
history of disaster and persecution, of a privilege won here by mis- 
fortune, and a liberty gained there by blood. It has been far from 
aid, in a land whose Cathohc clergy are the richest in Europe. The 
whole weight of the Austrian Government — to whom its every prin- 
ciple was odious — has been thrown against it. Yet, despite all this, 
the little church, winning strength and simplicity from its trials, has 
grown steadily on, until now it contains more than three millions 
of men, and embraces the intelligence, and virtue, and talent of 
Hungary within it. 

The fii-st great guarantee of the rights of the Protestant Church 
in Hungary was gained in 1606. There had been for two yeai-s an 
incessant pei-secution against them by the Jesuits, and by their 
influence the Emperor Rudolph had succeeded in carrying through, 
in the Hungarian Parliament the resolution that " no more com- 
plaints of Protestants should be presented to that body," and that 
" the old laws against heretics should be renewed." The result was 
a terrible confusion through the land, to such a degree that one of 
the princes of Siebenbiirgen, at that time an independent state, took 
advantage of it, to make an attack upon the Austrian provinces, and 
nearly succeeded in breaking to pieces the monarchy. Alarmed by 



206 TREATIES. 

by this, the Austrian cabinet concluded the celebrated " Peace of 
Vienna" of 1606, according to one article of which " all persons in 
Hungary, whether noblemen or citizens of the free cities, or soldiers 
in the border-guard," should be allowed the free exercise of their 
religion, and Protestants should have the liberty, as in previous 
years, of presenting their petitions to the Hungarian Parhament. 

The security gained thus for the Protestant Church, however, did 
not continue long. In a few reigns another pupil of the Jesuits, 
Ferdinand H., had ascended the throne, tinder a solemn vow, *' to 
hunt every Protestant from his kingdom," even " if it cost him his 
crown and his life." Now commenced another time of darkness 
and suffering for this sorely-pressed Church. The Protestants were 
robbed, condemned without trial, in every way despoiled of their 
rights, until at length their troubles brought another Prince of 
Siebenbiirgen to their aid — and the " Treaty of Linz''' in 1645, 
was won with the armed band from Austria, and, approved by the 
Parliament, became one of the laws of the land. By this their 
rights were secured in the most solemn manner again, and complete 
hberty of conscience was not only granted as in 1606, to certain 
classes, but to eveiy class, " even the peasants and all subjects 
through the land." 

The Protestant Church of Hungary seemed at length to rest on 
a sure basis. But hardly twenty years had passed before the 
Jesuits again commenced their workings. The teachings of Luther 
and Calvin were proclaimed an invention of the devil. Preachem 
were forced from their office ; churches occupied by soldiei-s ; and 
the peasants driven to mass with the bayonet; and in 1670, under 
pretext that the Protestants had been implicated in a conspiracy 
which was discovered in Hungary, the whole Church was nearly 
destroyed. Only some twenty parishes survived. The going over 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 207 

to Protestantism was treated as perjury by the laws of the land, 
and the whole Reformed Religion was utterly forbidden in all the 
newly-conquered parts of Hungary. Under Maria Theresa's much- 
praised government, these attacks continued. The "Council of 
State," a kind of " star-chamber" was formed, and the most severe 
measures were constantly enacted by it against the unfortunate 
Protestants. A convert from Catholicism was punished with two 
years in a fortress. Non-observance of festivals was atoned for with 
heavy fines. The Jews were utterly forbidden to embrace the new 
faith. Freedom of the press was prohibited, and Catholic books 
forced upon the schools. The Protestants were shut out fi'om all 
offices, their institutions of learning closed, and their young men 
forbidden to go to foreign univei'sities ; everything seemed to forbode 
an extinction of the weak, httle sect. Perhaps this might have 
been the result, but in some way, the dreaded enemy of Maria 
Theresa, the indomitable old Frederic of Prussia, heard of their 
sufierings — and, though he always felt himself entirely at liberty to 
ill-treat the Protestants at home, as he chose, he would never allow 
other people to abuse them. He wrote in consequence a stern, 
pithy letter to the queen, in regard to her treatment of "his 
brethren," which instantly produced a change in the legislation 
towards them, and gained them a breathing time. 

Their pi-ivileges, however, were at length recovered, in the very 
last yeai-s of the eighteenth century — and, what is most remarkable, 
through the efforts of the Catholics of Hungary themselves. Indeed 
it should be remembered that the attacks on the Protestants have 
scarcely ever come from their fellow-countiymen. The two 
churches in Hungary have generally lived very amicably. The 
hostility is from Vienna. 

All the rights granted them by the two former treaties, were 



208 ITS SUCCESS. 

secured to them again and firmly established by royal decree, and 
by the acts of the Parliament of 1792. They have passed, since 
then, through other persecutions, but have safely weathered every 
storm, — and poor and small as the sect is, it has contained during 
the last twenty years, the best men of Hungary in talent and char- 
acter within it. Misfortunes have given it strength ; and it is firmly 
founded now, on the love and confidence of the people. It leads 
the education of the nation, and is the repository of free thought 
and pure morals. Naturally, after such a histoiy, its deepest and 
strongest sentiment is a hatred of religious despotism. But its 
trials are not by any means over. Within the last year a blow has 
been aimed at the Church of Hungary by the Austrian Govern- 
ment, more deadly than all the attacks through which it has yet 
passed — an assault so insidious and well-directed that it must make 
eveiy friend of Protestantism tremble for its very existence in Hun- 
gary. The mode in which this attack was made was through an 
" Edict" from Haynau, to the military commandants in Hungary, 
with regard to " the new forming of the Protestant Church," dated 
February, 1851. 

In order to understand this edict, it will be necessary briefly to 
look at the Constitution of the Hungarian Church, against whick 
it is especially aimed. The whole Hungarian people are remarkable 
for one tendency, whether in matters of State or Church — a 
tendency which, in my view, even now in their misfortune gives 
us hope for their better future — an inclination to govern tJietr.'- 
selves by representative assemblies. Their Protestant Church is 
a complete Democratic and Representative system in its govern- 
ment, more so than any Church in Europe except the S' ttish. 
It is, however, peculiar in its Constitution, uniting charact^ ristics 
both of our Congregational and Prasbyteiian Churches. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 209 

Every church, or parish, chooses its own preacher, appoints his 
salary, dissolves connection with him when it chooses, and manages 
its parish schools in the most truly Congregational-lilce manner. 
Yet above it is a series of representative assembhes which have even 
a legal power over its movements. First comes the assembly of I he 
Seniorate^ composed of the preachers from several neighboring 
churches, together with delegates from the congregations. This 
decides upon certain school and parish affairs, and is presided over 
by two members, chosen fi-om themselves, a Senior and Curator. 
Above this again, is the assembly of the " Superintendents^^'' the 
highest church convention, which decides upon all the most import- 
ant matters before the National Church. 

The " Superintendent" is a kind of Protestant bishop, presiding 
over many " Seniorates," and having the ovei-sight of several hun- 
dred thousand souls. His duty is to visit the various parishes under 
his charge, to examine the candidates for the ministiy, and to keep 
watch over the morals of the clergy. I have called him a " bishop," 
still it must not be supposed he has anything of the pomp or luxury 
of a prelate about him. He is usually paid two to three hundred 
dollars a year for travelling expenses, but otherwise must be at the 
head of a congregation, and perform the usual duties of a clergyman. 
As far as I ha\e known the " Supei-intendents," they are generally 
men of talents and wide influence, but in their mode of life extremely 
humble and simple. They ara chosen almost directly from the 
people. This " Assembly of the Superintendents" is composed also 
of men sent directly by the congregations as delegates, and is 
presided over again by two members, one a Superintendent, and the 
other the " Upper Curator." And here we must call the attention 
of the reader to one very singular provision of this Constitution, in 
which, perhaps, it differs from any other Church-constitution existing. 



^10 LAY MEMBERS. 

The Hungarians, as is natural, after such a history of sufi'ering under 
ecclesiastical tyranny, have a deep and abiding dread of priestly rule. 
Accordingly, they have estabhshed, that in every church, every 
assembly, eveiy council, there should be certain men, appointed from 
the laiti/, to aid in guiding the proceedings, and especially to take 
charge of the monetary matters. In consequence, every Assembly 
of the Seniore, every Convention of Superintendents, every church- 
meeting, has its two presiding officers — clergyman and layman, 
the latter usually having the title of Curator or Inspector. 

The Constitution, as we have sketched it, is somewhat modified 
in different parts of the land, under the somewhat different forms of 
Lutheran and Reformed. The choice of the preacher has come 
often to be determined almost by the approval of the " Assembly ;" 
the assembhes themselves have a greater or less proportion of lay 
members — still, in its main principles, the Constitution is the same 
through the whole country. Under it the Hungarian Church has 
thrived. Laity and clergy have worked well together; and the 
referring of everything to the people, the constant use of representa- 
tive bodies, has given a life and energy to it — a sense oi personal 
responsibility, such as is scarcely known in any other Church of 
Continental Europe. It is the same Church-system which has 
nourished the incessant mental activity, and the free character of 
the Scottish race. It was a like system which trained the founders 
of our Republic, and prepared the New England men for a wider 
range of " self-governnaent." Is it to be wondered, if the Hun- 
garians chng to this Church-constitution as the sm-est pledge 
of success to then- piinciples — as the life and support of their 
religion. 

At this, most wisely, the tool of Austrian tyranny and Jesuitism 
has aimed his attack. 



CHAPTER XXYI. 
Attack on the Hungarian Protestant Church. 

The edict of " Field Marshal General Haynau " opens as follows : 
— " Guided by the purpose of aiding to do away with the moui-nful 
condition in which the Protestant Church of Hungary has been 
placed by the misuse of their offices on the part of certain overseers 
of said Church ; and with the -view of rendering it possible to the 
parishes of this Church to use the rights secured to them by the 
Constitution during the state of siege, I have decided to enact the 
following ordinances : — 

" 1. That the functions of the General Inspector and the District 
Inspectors, as well as those of the Curators, are to he considered at 
an end. 

Let this be noticed. Tne laity, who in the whole history of the 
Hungarian Church have shared in its deliberations, are now to be 
excluded. But who are to take their place ? "We give in answer 
" Ordinance H.," somewhat condensed, however. 

" n. Inasmuch as the holding of elections for the unoccupied 
places of Superintendents, as well as that of any other election, is 
illegal during the continuance of the state of siege, and yet as it is 



212 EDICT. 

desirable that trustworthy men should be placed over the parishes, 
/ hereby ivill summon certain men to these places, who, under the 
name of ' Administratoi-s,' and in company with certain reliable men, 
shall conduct the government of the Church." 

The ordinance is simple enough, and does not sound so dan- 
gerous. But it is, in effect, with one stroke of the pen, dashing out 
the whole self-governing system of the Church of Hungary ; all the 
Church-assemblies, all the District-conventions, all the Parish- 
meetings are at an end, for an election for any of these bodies is 
" illegal during the continuance of a state of siege." The highest 
officers of the Church are to be replaced by men chosen by 
a brutal soldier, — himself but the instrument of the Jesuits. And 
these new governors of the churches are to consult, — not with lay- 
men selected by the people, — but " with reliable men," whom he 
shall see fit to choose ! The whole is a complete destruction of the 
great principle of their Constitution — a principle sanctioned by three 
separate and solemn treaties, and won after three centuries of 
suffering and struggle. We do not wonder that the cry went 
through Hungary, of fear for their Church. " A drawn sword," 
exclaims one writer, " in the Protestant Church of Hungary ! Christ 
our Lord put under a state of siege /" 

We pass on, however, to the other ordinances of the edict : 

Ordinance III. provides that the Administrators and their 
assistants from the laity, are to lay all their public plans and mea- 
sures before the consideration of the military Commandants of the 
Districts, and that all the Church and School funds, formerly con- 
trolled by the " Assemblies," are now to be under their direction, 
subject to the aj)proval of the said Commandants. 

Ordinance IV. makes it necessary in every meeting of the 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 213 

Churches for consultation which may in future take place, that a 
military official should be present. 

Ordinance V., in view of the poverty of the Protestant churches, 
enacts that these Overseers and Administrators shall be paid by the 
State. We pass over the remaining ordinances as unimportant, 
except the eighth. This impresses it on all the newly-appointed 
oflBcei-s of the Church, that the great and especial object with the 
Government now is " to form a closer union on every side between 
State and ChurchP 

The edict closes in the following manner : — " I expect from these 
men {i. e. Administrators and Curators), who at once on their nomi- 
nation are to enter on the discharge of their offices, a careful and 
zealous performance of their duty, at the same time fiu'thering the 
views of the Government and the religious good of their congrega- 
tions, for which they will lay a solemn i^ledge in the hands of the 
Commandant of the District^ 

" Head- Quarters, Pesth, February 10, 1850. 

" From the Commander-in-chief of the third army for Hungaiy 
and Siebenbiirgen. 

" Haynaxt, F.Z.M." 

We beg the reader attentively to consider this edict, perhaps the 
sentence of death to the old Church of the Hungarians— a Church 
for which they and their Fathei-s have given their blood and their 
toils so long. 

It opens with a reproach at the " mournful condition" of the 
Pi-otestant Church. It is true, as all the Hungarians allow, that 
their Church is poor and weak, for it has been plundered too often 
by Jesuit and oppressed by Austrian, to allow it the opportunity of 
gaming any great wealth or power. But if it is meant that it is 



214 EFFECTS OF EDICT. 

" weak" in its moral influence, in its hold uj^on the affections of the 
people, in its power over the conscience and the hfe of the nation, 
they utterly deny the charge. They point to the statistics of 
raorahty in the Protestant parishes, as an evidence of its influence. 
They point to the fact that all the principal institutions of educa- 
tion are in its hands, and that Protestant young men are everywhere 
employed as teachers in Catholic families, and that the attendance 
upon churchly exercises and the interest in the Church, was never 
greater than now. The edict hints too at " the misuse of their offices 
by certain of the overseers of the Church." No one can deny that 
many of the Protestant clergymen headed the resistance of the nation 
against Austrian tyranny. For this they have atoned at the gal- 
lows or on the scaffold. But the Church itself, as a body, has 
never taken any part whatever in this struggle. And, furthermore, 
what Baron Haynau has carefully forgotten, the offer of a Protestant 
Hungarian Ministry, in 1848, "to unite the Church more closely 
with the State," they opposed as unwaveringly, as they do that of 
the Jesuit- Austrian Cabinet, now. 

It will be seen, that by Bai-on Haynau's plan, the Church utterly 
loses every right for which it has struggled for three hundred years 
— rights guaranteed by repeated treaties, and established by the 
very Austrian Constitution of 1848, to which he himself appeals. 
All its elections for church offices are at an end ; all its Representa- 
tive Assembhes are dissolved, and even in eveiy Council of the 
Church for spiritual improvement, a soldier must be present as 
Censor. The highest oflficere of the Church are tools of a Jesuit 
ministry, and before entering on their religious duties must receive 
the secret instructions, and lay their pledges in the hands of military 
authorities. The guards which the Hungarians have preserved so 
long against priestly despotism, are thrown down, and their officers 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 213 

from the laity are to be liencefortli appointed by the clergy, who 
are themselves the creatures of the Government. 

More than this, all the public funds of churches and schools, are 
to be under the control of a miUtary board, and every Church 
oflScer, under the new regulations, is to be in the pay of the Aus- 
trian Government. 

Add to this an order which has appeared within three or four 
months from the " Ministry of Instruction" in Vienna, completely 
changing the form of the Protestant schools, forcing the books and 
the teachers recommended by Government upon them, enacting 
that all the pubhc institutions which do not make the required out- 
lay of money shall be at once degraded and lose their privileges — 
and is it not all enough to make one fear for the very existence of 
Protestantism in Huugaiy ? If these orders are thoroughly carried 
out, the Hungarian Protestant Church either becomes Catholicized, 
or is made into a mere police institution of Austria. All life and 
voluntary energy are destroyed. Its spiritual leaders are only the 
agents of a Catholic Cabinet, and its young men bred up under the 
teachings of Rome. Is it to be wondered at, if the Church of 
Hungary, now in its time of utmost need, uttei-s its despairing cry 
for hel2:), to its brethren in all lands ?* 

Remember, ye in America, of whatever religion — ye who love 
free thought, and who labor to spread free institutions, what it 
means, to Catholicize Hungary ! It is to crush and extinguish the 

* Let no one take consolation from the fact that all these ordinances are 
given for a " state of siege." The Government journals of Vienna openly 
assert that it will need many, very many years, before '' martial law" can 
be removed from Hungary. And, as I believe, it will never be removed 
until that day of God shall dawn, which shall restore Hungary and the 
oppressed of Europe, everywhere to their rights. 



216 THE DANGER. 

last hope of a better Future for that generous nation. It means to 
introduce, not the Catholicism of America, or of France, or of Eng- 
land, but the lying Jesuitry, and the Freedom-hating Catholicism 
of Vienna and of Naples. It means to utterly blot out the old 
Church Constitution, which for so long has cherished and nourished 
independent thought. 

And you, Protestants of America, whose ancestore have won in 
toil and suffering the same privileges which the Hungarians now are 
losing ; you who know their value, who know that the cause of a 
pure Faith, and the hope of a better time for Humanity, depend on 
these principles, — have you nothing now to do, or speak for your 
brethren in their sore and trying need ? Chrisfs cause calls to you 
from Hungary ! 

And you, clergymen of my country, whose glory and whose 
power it has ever been in America, that you have stood first in the 
struggle for religious and ci^'il hberty, — remember that your breth- 
ren, " the Puritans," the Protestants of Hungary, are in the heat 
and burden of the contest which you have finished. The surges of 
attack are beating over them, and they must have your aid soon or 
never. With tkeir downfall, with the ruin of Protestantism in 
Hungary, goes out the last ghmmer of a pure faith in Eastern 
Em'ope. 

The expression of our sympathy to the world can do something ; 
the oflfer of our means and money, more. It can help build up the 
two Protestant universities, which have been utterly sacked and 
plundered during the war ; it can aid to restore the hundred and 
more churches entirely stripped of their means by the Austrians ; it 
can enable the Protestants so to regulate their schools that even the 
extortionate demands of the Government can find no pretext to 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 217 

abolish them. No nation of the earth has so generous a reputation 
as the American. Their sympathy is pubhshed to the world, for 
unfortunate Hungary. What better opportunity, practically and 
peacefully, to manifest it ? 

10 



CHAPTEE XXYII. 

Debreczin and the jSTeighborhood. 

May, 1861. 
I HAVE spoken before of the peasants of Debreczin. Among all 
the sturdy, indomitable-looking men of this class whom I have seen 
in Hungary, these seem to me the most free and unbroken by the 
circumstances about them. As I walked about among them, I 
could well believe what they all told me, that it needed only a very 
little to rouse them into a terrific outbreak against the Austrian 
Government. They are that class of men whom disasters only seem 
to harden and toughen. And there is a love of the battle, of rough 
sti'uggle amongst them which would make them very formidable 
soldiers, in case of another contest for Hungary. Yet, with all this 
I was utterly surprised at the preparations of the Government 
against the danger. In this city of Debreczin, with its 55,000 
inhabitants, containing the most turbulent independent population in 
all Hungary, where, in twenty-four houi-s, an army could be collected 
from the adjoining country of 60,000 of the best soldiers of Europe, 
every one vigorous and hardy, they have stationed only two regi- 
ments — some thousand men — of weakly-looking Italians, mostly 
themselves Revolutionists, who would not stand an hour against 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 219 

an equal number of Hungarians. It seemed very strange to me, 
and for a while I could not undei-stand it. The Austrians probably- 
trust in the apparent prostration of the nation, and in their utter 
want of arms. But these Bauer with their pitchforks would sweep 
such enemies away. The great reason, probably, lies in that wide 
fiict, which is the only omen of good in this time of depression and 
tyranny through Austria, namely, the impossibility of sustaining 
such a vast system of Wrong. It can be extended to a certain point, 
but it is beginning now to weigh down itself. Innumerable props 
can be made, and skill can long uphold it, but there is a limit where 
the laws of nature begin to assert their power again. The govern- 
ment can bring Croats to Italy, Hungarians to Bohemia, Austrian 
Poles to Vienna, Italians to Hungary, and thus long preserve the 
people and soldiers separate, and oppress the one through the 
stupidity of the other. But this system has its limit — thank God. 
They have not forces enough, to make just the pohtical equivalents 
which shall neutralize free action and thought. They have taken 
so many soldiers for Bohemia, that they have not enough foreigners 
for Hungary ; or they have stripped Italy to guard Vienna. They 
cannot find men enough, of the right kind, to garrison the most 
dangerous city of Hungary. I know nothing which has given me 
such an insight into the weakness of the Austrian system, as the 
appearance of these few soldiers in the old Hungarian Capital. 

Debreczin, as I have said, is not at all aristocratically inclined ; 
yet there are some among the people who belong to the " Old 
Conservatives," and it may be interesting to detail something of my 
experience with them. 

Mag — " I have been visiting to-day Mr. C, an old gentleman, 
and a ft-iend to the Government party. As all the others, he 
lamented politely that I had chosen this period for visiting Hungary. 



Q20 CONSERVATISM. 

The country was not to be recognized. Every one depressed or 
impoverished, and mattere apparently becoming woree every day 
He thought the Government had an exceedingly difficult task. 
There Avas no one to advise them, or even scarcely to aid them, in 
the administration of the country. The old ai-istocratic Nobility 
were offended, and had refused to take office. 

" The only officials were either worthless Hungarians or foreigners, 
who wished perhaps to do well, but did not understand the charac- 
ter of the people. He could not see what would be the result of it 
all, but the present condition must change. The taxes too, he said, 
were becoming heavier every day, and were generally laid very 
injudiciousl}-, so as most to embitter the people. 

" The Ministry seemed to have failed in every measure : and if 
their object is — though he could not believe it — ^to impoverish all 
the small landholder among the former nobility, and then intro- 
duce a new population, he thought they would fail in that too. 

" There was no confidence, either here or in foreign lands, in the 
measures of this Ministry. All the German immigrants, who had 
been brought in by the Government, had returned exceedingly 
disappointed. 

" The only possible help for Hungary was, he thought, to apply 
the Austrian Constitution of the 4th of March to the country ; and 
allow them provincial representatives, who might know something 
of the wants of the nation." 

I called about this time also, on a landholder, in the neighborhood 
of Debreczin — one of the genuine " Old Conservatives," who had 
formerly held property in the feudal labor of Bauer. He took the 
same discontented view of things as the gentleman mentioned 
above, hut was disposed to lay more of the blame on Kossuth. 
" They had a moderate freedom before the Eevolution," he said, 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 221 

" They had better have held by that, and not risk all on the chance 
for more. Kossuth was a dreamer, and had hurried the people 
further than they meant, with his wild plans ; he ought never to 
have proclaimed independence from Austria, and then we should 
not have had Russia upon us." " Look too," said he, " at thi3 
abolishing of the Robot (feudal labor). The mass of us are with- 
out a Kreutzer in return, and many beggared by it." 

I found that this gentleman, hke many others, had met the diffi- 
culty by giving up farming himself, and leasing his estates to those 
who once were his Bauer. It was so expensive and troublesome, 
now, hu-ing labor, that he preferred just to settle down as a land- 
lord among tenants than keep his former patriarchal position. Of 
course, on those estates where his peasants had occupied his land, as 
it were, on a perpetual lease, paying rent in feudal labor of so many 
days in the year (the ansdssige Bauer or " JRustici'''), he had lost 
aU when the labor was declared no longer obligatory. But it hap- 
pened that most of his Bauer were Inquilini and Suhinquilini 
(cotters and lodgers), that is, they only possessed house and garden, 
or even only a part of a house. In consequence, when the feudal 
work (the Robot) was abolished, he only lost the labor — not much 
land with it. 

Some of his old Bauer, especially in Siebenbiirgen, would not 
work for any inducement, he said. " They were landholders now ; 
■why should they be doing other men's work?" they would sav. 
Besides, all they wanted was a sheep skin for cloak and coat, a little 
Speck (pork-fat), and their Indian corn and wine, and they could 
" raise" all that on their own little farms. It did not appear from 
his account that tliey were lazy ; but that they would rather work 
for themselves than for other people. 

I always took the opportunity — wherever it was possible — ^whila 



222 A VILLAGE-JUDGE. 

in Hungary, to get acquainted with the peasants. They are 
shrewd fellows, however, and unless they know their man, they do 
not have much to say, except on general mattei-s. There was a 
settlement of Bauer near Debreczin, which some of my friends 
knew veiy well, and we all went together to visit it. 

The appearance of the village was precisely what I have men- 
tioned before — every -house neat and well whitewashed, but the 
aspect of the whole bare and uncomfortable. If they only would 
underetand that planting a few treec, or even sowing a little grass in 
the streets, would cost them no trouble, and would make pleasant 
village roads, instead of the impassable slough through which tra- 
vellers flounder now ! 

We went fii-st to see the village Judge, who is the leading 
Bauer. He was not at home, though we saw him afterward, I 
used to think, sometimes, they must choose these peasant-judges 
from their dignified, manly appearance. At least, they are the 
finest-looking men, usually, one sees among the lower classes. This 
man must have measured six feet three in his stockings ; and as he 
stood wrapped in his large blaek sheepskin, with powerful muscular 
frame, keen dark eye, aquiline features, and long grey hair, brushed 
behind his ears, he looked more hke a chieftain of the Puszta than a 
peasant. 

After a short time with him, we went to one of the commoti 
Bauer, as 1 vdshed to see a common peasant's house. Like all the 
i-est, this cabin was surrounded with a small hedge, woven of reeds, 
which seemed no kind of protection against their long-legged cattle. 
The house itself was one of the common mud-houses, whitewashed 
and thatched with reeds. 

Our peasant, vdth the usual retinue of snarling white dogs, came 
out of his garden to welcome us ; and, though nothing could have 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 223 

been probably more unexpected, he led us into the best room with 
as much ease as any gentleman could have done. He started at 
ODce to bring wine for us, but we would not let him, and telHng him 
our object was to see his house, he showed us, without any kind of 
unwillingness, what there was in it. There were only three rooms, 
one each side of the door, and a hall, with the usual altar-like fire- 
place, between them. One room is his bedroom, the other the 
parlor, and the hall is the kitchen. Behind the fii-eplace, there 
were long rows of the best crockery set out. 

They could have had no time to prepare anything, yet all the 
rooms were exceedingly neat. The bedroom had only a mud floor, 
but very dry and hard ; and filled up as it was with bright clothing 
and beds, and the immense white pyramid in one corner, it had 
quite a comfortable air. 

This " pyramid," hke those in the cottages near the Theiss, 
is an " air-tight stove," made of mud and white-washed. All 
the treasures of their wardrobe were in this room of om' host's. 
The sheep-skins, and beautiful wool-cloaks, and red and blue hand- 
kerchiefe, and red-boots, and the long boots with spurs. The 
prettiest article of all, however, in which the Hungarians of all 
classes used to delight, the short, decorated cloak (the dolmany) 
falling from one shoiilder gracefully, and fastened with a cord and 
tassel, is forbidden now. 

The whole Hungarian race, without doubt, has something of an 
Oriental fondness for gay clothing ; and it used often to be saidi 
before the Revolution, that many a Bauer's wages and poor gentle 
man's whole fortune were laid out in gilt and embroidery. In all 
their degradation, too, the Bauer have always preserved something 
of a cavalier dress and bearing. As one sees them even now, often 



224 TALK WITH PEASANT. 

with their long, curling mustaches and jingling spurs, they remind 
one much more of old hussai-s than of serfe. 

It was quite interesting to notice in the best room of our peasant 
— a very comfortable room by the way, with a good-board floor — 
a portrait of an old Prince of Siehenhurgen. They say that I will 
find such portraits in all the cottages of the peasants through this 
village, and that the memory of that Prince is most affectionately 
cherished — with reason too, for more than three centuries ago he 
freed these villages, in return for some service rendered him, from 
all feudal labor in future ; so that from that time to this, though not 
enjoying the privileges of the nobility, they have entirely escaped 
from all Robot duties and every feudal exaction whatever. 

I was glad to see in this cottage too, as one sees generally in the 
peasants' houses, a well-used Bible and Hymn-book. 

After examining things to our content, we fell into quite a long 
conversation with the peasant. He had served twice, at Kossuth's 
order, he said, and he hoped to again. If the times continued as 
bad, he should want to emigrate. They were all slaves now. He 
would rather leave the dear " Magyar-land" forever than see it as it 
is now. 

I asked him about his own circumstances — whether it was harder 
to live since the revolution ? 

Yes, he said, taxes were very heavy indeed, and everything 
was dearer — still, they could get along — that was not the worst, but 
they could not be slaves to these Austrians. For his part, he would 
rather be even in America, where they must work so hard, than in 
beautiful Hungaiy, if it was to become Austrian in this way. 

The words which the man said were such as one hears every- 
where from the peasants, but the manner was so eloquent and 
earnest, that no one could listen to him without feeling it. The 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 227 

stupid air, the shrewd Bauer knows so well how to assume, he said : 

" Your honoi-s will forgive me — but I am a poor ignorant peasant 
— may I ask a question ?" 

" Yes, speak on." 

" I have heard, your Honors, that you have made a very generous 
Proclamation to us peasants. Is it true, your Honors ?" 

" Yes, yes— why ?" 

" And is it true, that His most gracious Majesty has promised us 
he will protect us hi om' property ? Is it all true about that 
Proclamation, how you have come to keep om' property, and not 
take it away ?" 

" Yes — certainly — why do you ask ?" 

" Well your Honore, I am very glad — and I shall always love 
His Majesty for it. Now your Honors — do not be angry with a 
poor peasant — but was not this tobacco-seed my property ? Have 
not I a right to .do what I choose with it? Cannot I burn it and 
will you not ' protect' me ?" 

It is said, — though I will not vouch for the truth of this part of it 
— that the Court dismissed the man, at once, in disgust at such 
stupidity. 



CHAPTER XXYIII. 

The Nobles of Hungary. 

Some writer lately in The London Times, signing himself an 
*■'■ Engineer," says that he had under his employ, while building the 
suspension-bridge at Pesth, about " 1,500 Hungarian Noblemen^'' 
breaking stone and laying piers ! I have no doubt he might have 
done so ! Nothing could show better the incorrectness of the term 
*' Noble," as applied to the pri\ileged class of Hungary. " Fre&- 
men^'' would be a much more appropriate name — or in other 
words, the " Nobility" were all those who had come to be allowed 
by law certain privileges of voting and holding property, which the 
other classes did not have. They might be boot-blacks or hostlers, 
or stone-cutters, but as long as they belonged by descent to this 
class, they enjoyed its privileges, and were " Nobles," as the Ger- 
man writers call them. There would be an equal propriety, how- 
ever, in calling all those in our own country having the privileges of 
voting and holding office, " Nobles," and those deprived of them — 
foreigners, negroes, women, &c. — " Serfs." 

The first great privilege of the freeman of Hungary was, that he 
could never be imprisoned on suspicion. In every trial, till the 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 225 

misfortunes of his country seemed really to depress him, and his 
deep emotion for Hungary came the more impressively from a per- 
son oft4iis manly and soldier-like bearing. 

There is an almost exaggerated idea in Hungary about the 
practical character of us Americans ; and all who wish to emigrate, 
even from the wealthiest families, think that they must learn to 
work with their hands, if they would hve in America. No one, 
they often say, is respected in America without work. I, for one, 
have not discouraged the idea among them. It is well that, 
in coming to a new country, they should be prepared for a 
hard, rough hfe. Headioorh may come afterward, but the only 
work in which the Hungarians can make themselves respected and 
useful, for years to come, with us, must be work with the hands. 

I have known scores of gentle families in Hungary educating 
their children in some practical trade or labor, with a view to emi- 
gration. 

There is very httle doubt, that, if the Austrian Government 
would gi-ant passports, there would be at this moment hundreds — 
yes, thousands — of famihes preparing to cross to America, 

The peasants often speak, like this man, of their desire to emi- 
grate, but there is little probability that any of this vigorous class 
will ever reach our shores ; and, perhaps it is as well that they 
should remain by Hungary, 

There came before me, here again in Debreczin, one of those 
curious legends, among the lower peasantry, with regard to Kossuth 
— this time too among the Wallachs. 

The Emperor of Austria — so went the story — had just invited all 
the Kings and Pi-inces to a grand Assembly, in a hall lighted by a 
new and splendid lamp. They were to talk over the affairs of 
Hungary, and what must be done with the land. There were many 



226 ANECDOTES. 

different opinions, and at Ipnoth they said, they would call in 
Kossuth, to see what he would .idvise. He came in — and as soon 
as he saw the hall and the lights — he stood up and with loud voice, 
said : 

"My Lords ! The first thing for you to do, is to put out those 
lights ! Yom* lives depend on it !" 

They could not understand it, but they ordered the lights on the 
splendid lamp to be put out — and then Kossuth showed them what 
the hghts were. He broke each one open and there in the midst, 
was gunpowder — and in a few moments more, they would have 
blown up the whole Assembly in the air. Seeing what a wise man 
he was, and how he had found out the cunning wickedness of the 
Emperor of Austria, they all offered Kossuth at once, any thing he 
would ask — one said, gold — another, jewels — another promised him 
the place of Prime Minister. 

But Kossuth refused aU these things — and after they had all 
finished, he said : 

" My Lords — I wish nothing for myself ! I have enough. All 
which I ask, is that you would do something for poor Hungary ! 
Help my Fatherland to be fi-ee from Austria !" and the Princes 
and Kings, and Emperors, promised that they would ! 



There was a characteiistic stoiy too going the rounds here, about 
one of the Hungarian peasants which I must not forget. 

It appears a peasant had disliked the new " tobacco-law" (a law 
making the sale of tobacco a Government monopoly) so much, 
that he had biirned his seed, rather than plant any. 

Some of the spies discovered it — and he was summoned before 
the Military Court A few questions were asked, when Avith that 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 231 

causes. In the first place, this class of privileged persons, though 
belonging to all grades of society, were in general the most able, 
brave, and intelligent part of the community. 

More than this, the division was not made solely according to 
nationality or separate descent, as there are probably 80,000 Slavo- 
nian, Wallachian, and German " freemen," and on the other hand 
several millions of Magyars not belonging to this class. 

The number, too, of this class is to be considered, as distinguish- 
ing it from any other " aristocracy" which has ever existed. 

In 1785, according to Fenyes, there were over 325,000 of this 
privileged caste. In 1842, he reckons that in a population of 
11,178,288 — excluding Siebenbiirgen, — there were neai-ly 550,000 ; 
or nearly every twentieth person a freeman. 

According to the latest statistics of Hungaiy, there would be pro- 
bably, in every fourteen inhabitants, one " freeman," This, of 
couree, diminishes the immense inequality of this distinction of 
castes — as if one considers in every country the very few who are 
allowed to enjoy poUtical rights, compared with those deprived of 
them, such a setting apart of one class in Hungary loses something 
of its enormity. 

It is calculated that in England about one in twenty-four is a 
voter, or very nearly the same ratio as formerly in Hungary — iu 
Belgium, a Constitutional Monarchy, one in about fifty ; in France, 
under Louis Phihppe, one in one-hundred and eighty ; at present 
the ratio is about one in six. In the United States, the ratio must 
be about one in eight. 

The best counterbalance, however, of all to the bad influence of 
this class-distinction was in the number of Free Communities which 
had sprung up under various causes in all parts of the land. It will 
be remembered, I have ah'eady spoken of large tracts of country in- 



232 THE COUxN'TER BALANCE. 

habited solely by peasants, where every man for hundreds of yeare 
has enjoyed all the political privileges of the " Freemen," though 
never coming nominally into that body. 

Take, for instance, the large and populous districts of the 
" Jazyges" and " Cumanians," of which I have already spoken — or 
those of the " Haiduchs^'' — or the SzecTclers in Siebenbiirgen. All 
these are not considered " Freemen ;" are obliged to pay toll like the 
peasants ; are not secured in property or person any more than the 
rest of the people ; yet they have all their own independent admin- 
isti'ation, vote for their own officei"s and judges, and send their own 
members to the Parliament. In like manner, the cities were nearly 
all independent, self-governing communities, though belonging, 
apparently, to the class deprived of political rights. In this way, 
has arisen a most vigorous, independent body of men, not belonging 
to the favored class, and yet not at variance with them, inasmuch 
as they have theii' own good rights, and are quite contented with 
them. 

It should besides be remembered, that as this old feudal distinc- 
tion of caste has been preserved, so have also the feudal burdens on 
the "Freemen." 

They are indeed free from all common taxation, but they are 
liable to extraordinary contributions to their feudal lord, the King. 
They are not obliged to render any petty services to the State, but 
they can be called out, at the summons of the King, to do military 
duty, and at theu' own expense. These were no hght burdens, and 
in time of frequent war would quite equal those which were laid, in 
the shape of usual taxation, upon the other classes of the nation. 

For instance, in the Levy, (or Insurrectio, as it is called), of 
1809, there were 17,000 cavalry, and 22,000 infantry, called out 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 229 

sentence was pronounced upon him, his person was to be sacred. 
The only exception were cases of highway robbery, perjury of office- 
holders, and high treason. 

No freeman could ever be imprisoned too for debt, or punished 
with corporeal punishment ; and appeal was always allowed him to 
the highest court. 

TiU the great victory gained by Kossuth's party in 1836, no 
person out of this class was allowed pereonally to bring any accusa- 
tion against a freeman, but must, if a citizen, do it through the city 
corporation, or if a tenant, through his landlord. 

Besides the pei-son of the freeman being made inviolable, his 
land was almost equally protected. No one but a member of his 
class could pm'chase his landed estates, or have the power of exer- 
cising feudal rights over his tenants. All his property was secured 
from the usual taxes — from all tithes to the clergy or government, 
and fi'om payments of rates or contributions. No tolls besidea 
could ever be demanded of him on bridges or highways. His 
house and his estates, too, could never be burdened with the quarter 
of soldiers upon them. In regard to his movable property, he had 
the right to dispose of it as he chose ; but in his inherited estates he 
was utterly checked and controlled by the law of entailment 
[Avicitat), which secured them to his family, and gave his descen- 
dants the primal ege of reclaiming a pawned estate, 300 years after 
the time of the contract. 

To this class of freemen, even when embracing men of the lowest 
position, belonged almost exclusively all political rights. Only they 
could vote for members of the National Legislature, or for any 
county or district officers. In all assembhes for settling the taxation 
of the people, for regulating the matters of internal government, for 
choice of magistrates and judges, this class alone had a voice. No 



230 CASTES. 

one, too, but a " freeman" could be cbosen a representative to the 
Parliament, or appointed Governor [Oberpespan), of a Comitat, or 
even be made a District Judge, In former times, too, even the 
highest places in the Catholic Church were only open to this class. 

A more unjust and annoying distinction of castes than this, as it 
appears on paper, scarce ever existed. That one class, not neces- 
sarily in any way superior in education or wealth, or refinement, 
should utterly control the administration of the country, in which 
they formed but an unimportant part ; that those who never paid 
the taxes should appropriate them, and that those who made most 
use of the benefits of the Government, should be obliged to give 
nothing for its support, was a system so unreasonable and oppres- 
sive, that nothing could in any way have preserved it by itself for a 
great length of time. 

One would expect, too, the worst practical results from such a 
di^asion of classes, as this in the old Hungarian Constitution. How 
could roads ever be built or improvements made in a land where 
the class, which most used them, must do nothing for their support ! 

How could business be transacted with any ease, when all the 
capital vested in land was almost forbidden to be exehanged? 
What opportunity could there be ever for the great mass of the 
people to rise when one favored class holds all ofl&ces, controls every 
branch of the administration, is entitled alone to be the voters, the 
representatives, the judges, and even the jurymen of the country ; 
when it has all the benefits of government, and throws on other 
classes the burdens ? 

There is no doubt that these would have been tremendous evils 
if they had existed in reality, as they do on the pages of the Consti- 
tution. In fact, they were bad enough as they did come forth in 
practice; but their influence was exceedingly modified by other 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 233 

by the Emperor fi'om this class ; and a war-tax laid upon them of 
15,000,000 florins (about seven and a half million of dollare.) 

The last great Levy was made in the wars of Napoleon, when his 
army was threatening Vienna with that rapid march down the 
valley of the Danube. The expenses of the campaign were always 
obliged to be defrayed by the whole body of the Freemen ; though? 
if called out of Hungary, they were to be paid at the King's 
expense. 

Yet, with all that can counteract the evil influence of this most 
unjust and injurious system, I own, from my experience of the 
country, I am sui*prised not to have found more bad effects. 

I have discovered, in all my intercourse with every class, in the 
Hungarian people, no violent separation of different castes. 

I have found the peasant and the citizen loving their Fatherland, 
and ready to give up all for it, quite as much as the most privileged 
of the " Freemen." The sacrifices in the war, the voluntary contri- 
butions of property and lives, came quite as much from the lower 
classes, or those shut out from political privileges, as from the 
higher. 

The hopes, the longing unspeakable for Hungary's deliverance, 
which the oppression of centuries to come will not extinguish, 
exists quite as much in one body of the people as another. 

I have not either observed the jealousy of different grades of 
society which I might have expected, or the hauteur and law- 
lessness one would anticipate from a condition of hfe like this of the 
privileged class. The only exceptions to this are in the feelings 
of the whole nation toward the nobility (the Magnaten,) and in 
their general bearing and intercourse with the people. But these 
form only an unimportant part of the nation, and are not to be con- 
fused at all with the large class of the privileged " Freemen." 



234 NO JEALOUSY. 

Much of the present harmony and good feeUng of the nation is 
undoubtedly due to the common sufferings of all. They have all 
together struck for freedom, and have failed. And those who once 
possessed the privileges and enjoyed the highest rank in the State, 
have not suffered the least in the cause. The best and the highest 
of the old favored caste are diiven into exile, or have fallen on the 
scaffold. The noble and the peasant mourn in common. 

But the great and suflBcient explanation of this is in the spirit and 
the works of that gi*eat party which Kossuth led for so many years, 
in the coui-se of progress and reform. 

For nothing did Kossuth labor more perseveringly and fearlessly 
than the utter abolition of these feudal distinctions. 

The people know this ; they know the objects of this Reforai- 
party ; they know what would have been — indeed, what was — 
bestowed upon them in the Revolution ; they, as all, must see, that 
the tendency of such a struggle was inevitably to a Repubhc, and 
the equalizing of all classes ; and, therefore, they have no sentiment 
of jealousy toward any one class of society, or any feehng of separa- 
tion in interests from those wl^o once possessed alone the political 
privileges in Hungary. 



CHAPTEE XXIX. 

University at Debreczin. 

Debrezcin is very well known in Hungary as the place of educa- 
tion for nearly all the principal men of the nation holding the 
Protestant faith. 

There are two prominent univei-sities in the country — one at 
Pesth, mostly under CathoHc and Austrian influence, and this at 
Debreczin, entirely Protestant in its character. Besides these, there 
are several institutions in various parts of the land, corresponding to 
our small colleges, and most of them under Protestant guidance. 
It is one of the most favorable indications for the inward force of 
the Protestant faith in Hungary, when one considers the immense 
wealth and power opposed to it, that it has won, step by step, such 
immense influence. The Education of the Nation is entirely in its 
hands. 

This Univei'sity in Debreczin had once a very full complement of 
students, some six or eight hundred I think. At present, there are 
not more than two hundred, regularly attending lectm'es. Most of 
the students and professors had joined the ranks, and met the fate 
of the other Hungarian patriots. It was very cm-ious in going over 



236 "SOLDIER-PROFESSORS." 

the Institution and making the acquaintance of the professors, to 
find men quietly teaching chemistry or mechanics, who had led the 
fiery sally from Komorn against Raab, or had served the cannon in 
the battle against the Russians at Debreczin. They showed to me 
one calm, spiritual-looking chorister in the college-choir, who had 
been the best cannonier by far in the Debreczin battle. 

The buildings for this University are quite large and substantial 
— in part of stone — the best in interior Hungary. Within them, 
among other rooms, is a common hall, with plain, wooden seats, 
used as the college chapel, which is destined perhaps yet to be the 
most interesting historical spot in Hungary. For in this room in 
1849 was the first proposition made for declaring Hungarian Inde- 
pendence — the complete separation of the nation from the House 
of Austria. My friends showed me the place where Kossuth 
addressed the Assembly, and described the burst of enthusiasm with 
which his speech in favor of declaring the national independence 
was received. The act was consummated with much solemnity on 
the 29th of April, 1849, in the great Reformed Church of De- 
breczin, before both Houses of Parliament. 

I have met some in the country of the " Old Conservative" 
party, who look on that resolution of the National Assembly as a 
premature step, and the beginning of their misfortunes, and who 
say that that measure committed the^ people irrevocably to a war 
with all the Absolute Powers. It is well known that Gorgey always 
condemned this declaration. 

I found that my friends in this institution had the same fear with 
regard to the Catholic influences at work in Vienna which I had 
heard expressed elsewhere. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 237 

While I was examining the buildings of this college at Dehreczin, 
one day, my friends proposed to me to go into one of the halls, 
where the students were aboiit to sing some national songs ! 

I followed them, and quite unexpectedly found myself in a large 
concert-hall, before a crowd of people, who welcomed me with an 
Eljen ! which made the walls ring again. At the other end of the 
room was a full choir of students. It appeared my friends wished 
to give me a little pleasant surprise, and had prepared this concert 
of the Hungarian music for the purpose. The choir, composed of 
men and boys, was remarkably well trained ; and they evidently 
sang with an excitement and interest unusual. 

The songs were mostly of Hungary — her beauty and glory, their 
love and devotion to her, and, with the plaintive tone peculiar to 
Hungarian music, seemed darkly foreboding future calamity to her. 
Without doubt, the presence of one from that nation who had wel- 
comed the Hungarian exiles, and had alone sympathized with her 
cause, gave a reality to their expressions of feeling, which nothing 
otherwise could. And, as the deep voices swelled and thrilled over 
the words which spoke of their " beautiful Fatherland," their lovo 
unquenchable for her, their " hopes with her to die," I could 
scarcely restrain my tears. I seemed to be listening to the Jews 
singing " the songs of Zion in a strange land." And at length as 
the chorus of their favorite song, 

" Zu deinem Vaterland bleib, 
Unerschutterlich treit /" 

''To thy country remain 
Unshakingly true !" 

arose, and swelled, and was echoed again and again, with passionate 
tone and teai-ful eye, from every man and child in the room, it 



238 • A CONCERT 

seemed to me tnat they, in this time of their country's gloom and 
misfortune, were sending forth by the stranger, to other lands, their 
vows of unshaken fidelity and love. 

Nearly all the Hungarian aii-s open in a low, plaintive measure, 
and gra'dually increase in force and wildness as they go on. This 
plaintive tone through nearly all the Hungarian music, and even in 
the sound of the language, as it first strikes upon the ear of the 
stranger, is very remarkable. I have often sat listening in the 
drawing-rooms, to the songs or the conversation, and wondered 
whether there was not something ominous — prophetic — of the 
future of the nation, in this tone of sadness so pecuhar to the Hun- 
garian. It is very strange and interesting to the traveller, every- 
where in Hungary, to observe how these national songs are remem- 
bered and sung. In many places they are forbidden, but the 
people will sing them. I remember that in one family I heard a 
young lady sing one of these songs with such an extreme enthusiasm 
that I had apprehensions for a Httle while she was becoming 
insane. 

Among the aire which I heard at this concert, some of the best 
were connected with the most unmeaning words. There is one 
celebrated air, with a singularly beautiful though somewhat mono- 
tonous refrain, beginning 

" Hortobagy puszta !" 

where the only idea which I could find conveyed was 

" Over the prairie, 
Over the prairie , 

Blows the wind !" 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 239 

The life on the piisztas, or prairies, and the adventures and loves 
of the Csikosses, or half-wild cattle-drivere upon them, seemed to 
form one of the most favorite themes in these airs. 

After the concert was over, I expressed my thanks, and turned to 
go out, when I found a long lane opened in the crowd, through 
which I passed, under vociferous SJljens, looking as meekly as a 
modest man could at such an unexpected reception. 

As I said before, I found my black European hat very conspicu- 
ous here. I at last said something about it to a friend, a preacher, 
with a somewhat humorous turn. 

" You are very unfortunate," said he ; " you have an official 
Austrian hat. Now this," taking up a low-crowned, broad-brimmed 
hat, like one of our " Californias," or the English " wide-awakes," 
is a ' durchaus Sociahstischer und Democratischer' — a thoroughly 
Socialistic and Democratic hat — and would send me to the Austrian 
guard-house, if I should wear it in the streets. This, however," 
and he raised another with a more pointed crown and a narrower 
brim, " is merely a Schlecht-gesinnte Jlut, an e^'il-disposed hat !" 

I ought to mention here that this word ^^ evil disposed,''^ has 
almost passed into a phrase in Hungary, to mean anything which is 
opposed to the government, and of course, in consequence, anything 
which the Hungarians hke. 

" This again," he continued, taking up a black hat, Hke the Kos- 
suth hats in vogue here, " is a purely neutral hat ; Hungarian, but 
not revolutionary. And this," handing me mine, " is a thoroughly 
Austrian, well-disposed, JReactionaire (reactionary) hat." 

I was of coui-se much amused at this analysis of hats, though it 
all speaks strongly, much more than more important facts, of the 
present condition of Hungary. 



240 TREATMENT OF CLERGY. 



There was much talk here in Debreczin of an eloquent preacher 
among them, who had been sentenced lately to twenty-two years in 
the fortress of Olmiitz. JS'one believed he would live out half the 
term. 



The clergymen in Hungary have fared veiy badly at the hands of 
the Austrian Government since the Revolution. Perhaps the military 
courts regarded them as in the same position with the priests in 
Austria, — servants of the Government, — and treated them as if they 
were traitorous office-holders. Or perhaps they saw that the most 
dangerous enemies for Austria were men of this free, earnest. Chris- 
tian character. Numbers of them were hanged, or shot — and these 
not of any one sect. Catholic priests and bishops, as well as Protest- 
ant clergymen and deacons and superintendents. 

I cannot omit this opportunity to express my high sense of the 
worth and self-devotion of these men, so far as I knew them in 
Hungary. It seemed to me the feai-ful events in which they had all 
just been tried, had given a certain strength and manliness to them, 
which is usually somewhat wanting in their class. They are all 
bound to one another now by many mutual services ; the good rela- 
tions between them are not equalled among the clei-gy of any coun- 
try. In the circle in which I was, one pointed to another, as the 
" friend who had plead for him at the Coui-t-martial in '49 and 

saved his life ;" another showed me " Brother , as the man 

whose skilfiil answer before the Police this year, had saved them 
all from the Neugehaude (Statfe's prison)." 



HUNGARY IN 1851 241 

The Austrian Government suspects them all, but it dares not 
openly to exasperate the people, by then* imprisonment, without some 
good pretext. 

Their contrivances after the war to maintain themselves were dex- 
terous enough. One of them told me how the command came to 
them when the war was over, to preach on the " Advantages of the 
Peace." Accordingly he appeared the next Sabbath in his pulpit, 
read the " Order " of the ministry, and preached an elaborate and 
beautifully abstract sermon on the " Blessings of perfect peace.^ 
The Government ai-e aware of their immense influence over the 
people, and try to gain it to their side. I recollect while I was at 
Pesth, an especial agent came down from the Court, to hold an 
assembly of the priests and preachei-s, in order to urge upon them 
the duty of keeping their flocks contented under the Austrian rule, 
and of enlightening them as to the good motives of the ministry. 

May^ 1851. — I have been taking a long walk through the various 
parts of Debreczin, and calling upon various acquaintances. There 
was a poor Honved,* with his leg gone, standing by the Rathsliaics. 
He did not ask for anything, but neither I nor any one else who 
passed could help giving him a trifle. It is not often that a Honved 
will beg. 

A young man met us in one place, and my friend told me to 
notice him. He was the son, he said, of the keeper of the famous 
crown of St. Stephen,f so mysteriously saved from the Austrians in 

* Literally "Home defender," i. e., National Guard. 

■f This crown is said originally to have been presented to King Stephen 
by Pope Sylvester XL in the year 1000. The Hungarians have almost a 
superstitious reverence for it, and consider no reign legal where their king 
has not been crowned with it. It has been frequently lost, and always re- 
covered in an almost unaccountable manner. Many think that Kossuth 
11 



242 ENGLISH CONVERSATION. 

the last war. Most suppose this keeper knows where it is still 
though all said he would rot ia prison, (he is in the Neugebaiide,) 
tVventy yeai-s before the Austrians would get a word from him. 

I was quite amused at Mr. T.'s, where they speak German, to 
hear one of the children call another in a great spite, " you little 
Schwarzgelb .-"' i. e., " black and yellow^'' the Austrian colors, which 
have come to be the last term of reproach in Hungary. 

I heard in the common talk to day, that the young Countess 
Tbleki had been arrested on some frivolous charge. All seemed 
to feel uneasily if one so young and patriotic and so high in rank 
could be entangled by this Inquisition. Her own carriage and foot- 
men had been graciously allowed her, it was said, in crossing to the 
forU'ess with the dragoons. 

I had received a beautiful note in English from a lady this morn- 
ing, requesting me to call upon her, as she " wished to know one of 
that noble nation who sheltered the exiles from Hungary." I called 
and she addressed me at once in English. In the coui-se of the con 
versation, with the chai-acteristic Hungarian eloquence of tone she 
burst forth, " Did you know it, sir ? We meant, to have a republic 
like yours. Gorgey was our Arnold. If it had not been for him, 
we should have been free. Oh, if you could have seen our armies 
as they marched through here ! How proud they were, how hope- 
ful and strong ! And now they are gone ! But they were ready, 
apd no one feared to die for his country. And to think it was all 
for nothing !" 

It is astonishing how accustomed one becomes to this passionate 
expression, and how it finally forces one almost into an opposite, 
matter-of-fact way. So that at the time in Hungary, I was almost 

knows where it is, and that he will use it yet, as a standard around which to 
rally the peasantry. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 243 

unconscious of much which has since shown me how deeply wounded 
is the heart of the people. 

I was surprised through the whole country, to find how generally 
foreign language and English, or at least the English literature, were 
known by the higher classes. All the more intelligent families con- 
verse readily in French and German ; and in Pesth, there seemed 
more who spoke English among my acquaintances, than in any othei 
continental city I had visited. The Hungarian German, however, is 
always easily recognized by its accent. English, particularly since 
these late events, is more and more studied, and German is avoided 
wherever possible, as all associate it so indelibly with what is Aus- 
trian. However, the diplomatic and State language, fastened now 
over Croat and Magyar, Slavonian and Wallach, is German, and 
the old strife of languages quiets itself now under one common 
foreign tongue. 

The Magyar must have a natural aptitude for learning languages. 
Still his circumstances have much quickened this. No gentleman 
could really succeed in political life twenty years ago, without know- 
ing at least four languages. The debates of the Parliament were 
all held in Latin. All communications with the Austrian Govern- 
ment, and in fact with foreignei-s, were in German. The lower 
classes must be addressed in Slavonian — and of course Magyar must 
be known as his own tongue. With such a foundation, made con- 
stantly familiar from childhood, all the languages of western and 
eastern Europe could be learned without difficulty. I have seen a 
common, ignorant private soldier among the Wallachs speak six 
languages well. 

The language in Europe most similar in intonation to the 
Magyar, seems the French ; and accordingly the Hungarians learn 



244 NATIONAL PROVERBS. 

the difficult Frencli sounds with great ease. The French nasal 
sound is quite common ; as, for instance, on the n in Honved. 

I do not profess to speak learnedly on this matter, but from what 
little opportunity I had of examining the structure of this language, 
it seemed remarkably flexible, and capable of high development. 
The arrangement of •' suffixes" and " prefixes" and some other pecu- 
Harities, reminded me constantly of the Hebrew. The philologists 
say that it has no affinity with any European tongue, and only 
bears a relationship to the Turkish and Finnish. 

I was struck to-day with something very characteristic of the 
Hungarian character. One of the gentlemen with me wanted to 
trust some httle business to a Bauer ^ and was questioning him as to 
whether he would be faithful. The peasant di-ew himself up, and 
only gave for answer, " Magyar ember /" " I am a Hungarian !" 

It is currently reported in Hungary that in the beginning of the 
war, some one made the proposition to Kossuth, in case the Aus- 
trians should refuse to recognize the new Hungarian bank-notes, to 
issue an immense quantity of Austrian notes, for which he had 
every means in presses and stamps, and thus swamp the treasury. 
All the reply he gave w^as the simple " May gar ember /" I have 
often noticed it used in this way. 

To me these little expressions of national feeling always show 
much of the prominent national traits. 

I suppose an Englishman would say " he was no Englishman" to 
strike a man when he was down, or to let a strong man beat a 
weak one. 

An American would call himself " no genuine Yankee" ever to 
give up what there was the slightest chance of his accomplishing, 
or ever to let himself be outwitted by any created shrewdness. 

The Hungarian expression seems to be used more nobly. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 245 

Among my acquaintances in Debreczin, to whose courtesy I owe 
much, is the Protestant Bishop, a most kind-hearted and courtly old 
gentleman. I was often at his house, and he gave me much in- 
formation about the peasantry of the neighborhood. I found ha 
belonged at present to the " loyal party," and I cautiously avoided 
all topics connected with politics, which might in any way com- 
promise him. He rewarded me for my discretion, on going away, 
by giving me several important lettere to friends of the Government 
in southern Hungary, and among othei-s to a gentleman whose 
acquaintance I afterwards made in quite a different manner — the 
General of the Gros Wardein garrison. I used also to meet many 
of the higher Austrian officer at his house. I became quite 
attached to the old gentleman, and he seemed so to me. On 
parting, he informed me his horses were at my service the next 
day for my journey, and then kissed me affectionately on both 
cheeks ; and accompanying me to the gate, embraced me again, 
with, as I afterwards recalled, a sad, foreboding look, as if he half 
anticipated the gloomy change which was soon to come over my 
travels. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

The Citizens in Hungary. 

Debeeczin- May, 1851. 

I HAVE been spending a very pleasant hour with one of the 
merchants of the city. Among much other interesting conversation 
we fell into a talk about the merchants and their position in Hun- 
gary. He said, that men of this employment had never had the 
respect in Hungary, which they should have. Farming, and fight- 
ing had always been the only two reputable occupations,' among the 
Magyai-s. They did not hke cities and they did not like business. 
All this had had a very bad eflfect in former years, he thought, upon 
this class of business men — so that it was very difficult sometimes to 
get an honest, respectable man, to go into trading. 

The men too in the cities, he said, had come to have a bad name, 
because the cities had been such mere tools in the hands of the 
Austrian King-s. 

I should think from his account, that there had been sometimes a 
complete system of the English " rotten boroughs," where a Corpo- 
ration, which hardly existed, sent a Member to Parliament — only 
to be there often an instrument for the purposes of the Viennese 
Ministry. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 247 

The Maygars, he said, could not bear to live in cities. Every one 
likes to have room enoug'I] around him. 

I have spoken before, on my journey, of this propensity of the 
Magyar to make elbow-room for himself, so that one seems to be 
travelling often through a large city, yet where each man lives sepa- 
rately, as in a \'illage. 

I had the curiosity after this conversation to see how statistics 
would bear out this apparent tendency of the Hungarians. 

I found that there were twenty-one market-towns (villages of the 
kind mentioned above, without city-privileges) with over 10,000 
inhabitants each, and more than 1,500 villages, with 1,000 each. 
The market-town Holdmezb Vasdrheli/, for instance, having over 
30,000 — and the village Csaba more than 23,000. 

With a population of more than 14,000,000, Hungary has only 
126 cities,* and the whole number of those inhabiting cities, is only 
1,125,000. Of these, only 528,000 are Magyai-s. 

Of the 126 cities, forty-six are Magyar — forty-six Slavic — thirty 
one German — and three Wallach. 

Of the 783 market-towns, 341 are May gar — 160 Slovack — forty 
Raizen — forty Croatian — thirty-three Schokazen — twenty Ruthe- 
nian — and ninety-eight German, and forty-nine Wallach and 
two Bulgarian. 

Despite this apparent disinclination of the Magyai-s for cities, 
there was much in the privileges of a city, which would make a resi- 
dence there desirable. The poor peasant who could win or pu'- 

* There are two cities in Hungary, with more than 50,000 inhabitants, 
(Buda-Pesth, 120,000 and Debreczin, 55,000) ; four cities with more than 
30,000 ; thirty with more than 10,000 ; thirty with more than 5,000 ; and 
fifty-four with less than 5,000.— Fenyes — and Dr. Schiitte — also Chow- 
anez — 1851.) 



248 CITY-GOVERNMENT. 

eliase a citizensliip, at once became a privileged pereon. He could 
no longer be imprisoned for debt. He w^ safe from all toll upon 
bridges or bigbways. Some of tbe most prominent offices of the 
State, before shut out from bim, were now open, and be became 
eligible for a Bishopric, for the highest places of the countiy, and 
for even a distinguished mihtary rank. If he had before, as one of 
the Feudal peasants, been shut out from a share in the Government 
of the State, he became now as a " citizen," an elector ; the Corpo- 
ration of which he formed a part, sent its two Members to Par- 
hament. 

His city governed itself by its own board of aldermen, composed 
of the Mayor, Chief of Police, Judge, and 4 — 12 " Senators." These 
worked in co-operation with a " Common Council," of from four to 
125 members, according to the size of the city. Every year came 
the election fo?» the city-officers. It increased, too, the importance 
of- the before almost outlawed peasant, to be a member of a body 
which had supreme judicial power, even to that of death, within its 
precincts. Now, too, he could buy the landed property of the 
Nobles — though even here under the restriction of an apparent 
" pawning." 

From aU my observations in Hungary, I should conclude that the 
cities trained up a very independent population. Men were more 
apparently equal within them, than they were often without. And 
possibly their own corporative Government gave them a pecuUar 
education in politics. Certain it is, both here in Debreczin, and in 
other cities of Hungary, I have been struck with the independent 
character of the people, and with their familiarity in pohtieal 
detail. 

These cities, or " boroughs," however, became a great drag often 
in Hungarian progress. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 249 

The great evil of their Constitution was, as also in the " Free 
Communities^'' that the Crown had too much power. In the 
country, the Court could never exercise it so arbitrarily ; but here, 
they were less unrestrained. Every candidate for the alderman 
and then again for the Parliament, must first be approved by the 
Ministiy, before he is eligible ; that is, a certain number are pre- 
vented by the Corporation, or the Common Council, from whom 
three candidates are selected by the Royal officers. 

Besides this, all the cities are considered in law as royal property. 
They pay a particular contribution to the king, as well as the usual 
taxes ; they bear a part of his expenses at the Parliament. All the 
farming of their property depends directly on the Royal Adminis- 
tration, so^ that they cannot spend 50 florins ($25), without per- 
mission.* 

In consequence, if there happened to be any too'liberal member 
from one of these boroughs, the Court used to throw an effectual 
hamper over his movements, by refusing all permission to spend 
money, to his city. Not a road could be repaired, or sidewalk im- 
proved, or street widened, during the term of the obnoxious 
member. 

The burdens of a city are the usual domestic tax and war-taxes ; 
the duty of fm-nishing a certain number of recruits ; and the obliga- 
tion to quarter soldiere, at the command of the State. 

All the grievances, mentioned above, at length became so great 
that many of the cities seemed to have given up elections for the 
Parliament — and from the 126 cities, only 70 to 80 members took 
their seats in the Assembly. 

The other Representatives of the Parliament, too, were so 
offended at the Royal influence over these Delegates from the cities, 

* Fenyli — Statistik des Konigreichs Ungarn. — Vol, ii., p. 144. 
11* 



i50 EEFORM IN '48. 

that during some years they took away their privilege of voting 
entirely, still leaving them the right to speak and sit in the body. 

The Constitution of these cities, and their mode of government, 
seems to have been derived from that of the German cities. The 
first pri\Hleges were bestowed by King Stephen, about the year 
1,000, on the city of Stuhlweissenburg, and after him successive 
kings of Hungary endowed these Corporations with peculiai- rights. 

In 1848, the Constitutions of all these cities were reformed — 
suffi-age extended — all higher " Candidation," that is, approval of 
candidates by the higher authorities before election done away with, 
and the Aldermen and Common Council made more directly 
dependent on the people. To them too, as to the nation generally, 
a full shai-e was given in the elections for the National Assembly. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

Fitness for Self-Government, 

Throughout my journey in Hungary, nothing had so interested 
me, thus far, as the accounts I heard everywhere of the old Internal 
Government of the country. The \?hole was so far beyond any- 
thing which I had seen of political institutions on the Continent, 
that I could scarcely credit it. 

The people too, I could see, felt, most of all, the loss of this old 
system of Self-Government — ^i-eformed and widened as it had been 
in 1848. 

I studied the system carefully, and I am fully convinced that the 
old Hungarian Internal Government formed one of the best means 
for political education, and that it needed only a few reforms to 
render it a complete Republican or even Democratic system. 

To my mind, the old Constitution of Hungary, prepared for th^t 
of 1848, as the old English Internal system of governraeut did foy 
the more complete Self-government in America, 

The details of this matter may be dry — but the facts will be 
found of value — especially as connected with the question of the 
Fitness of the Hungarians for self-government. 



252 ''STATE-RIGHTS." 

The Fii-st gi-eat principle of the Internal Constitution of Hungary 
was the idea of, if I may so say, " State Eights," or provincial 
rights ; that is, the principle that each State (or Comitat) should be 
as independent as possible of the Central Government. 

The Second was that each little local division of the country 
should have its own self-administered government. 

Hungary was divided up into 52 Comitats or States ; a division 
dating back fi-om unknown times, probably originating fii-st in mili- 
taiy divisions among the conquering Asiatic tribes. 

Each one of these States had its own provincial administration. 
It was considered, in almost all respects, a " sovereign State," even 
more than any of the States of our Union. It could treat with 
foreign Governments. And most singular of all, if it disapproved 
the acts of the Central Government, it could send them back by 
means of its State Legislature, vetoed. The very membei-s it sent to 
the National Parliament, were not " Representatives," as with us, 
but Delegates — men " instructed" to vote and speak in a certain 
way, and liable to be recalled at. any moment by the State, if they 
disobeyed instructions. Any measure or vote of these delegates dis- 
pleasing to the State, could at once occasion their dismissal. All 
ordei"s or sentences, both from Hungarian or Austrian Courts, from 
the Lord Chancellor of the Kingdom, or from the Home Office,* or 
from the Emperor of Austria himself, if it found them inconsistent 
with the laws of the land, it could reject. 

Such a freedom of action, left to the different provinces of one 
country, not united in a Confederation, I have never known else- 

* I am obliged in translating the names of Hungarian political officers, to 
intermingle English and American political terms, inasmuch as the officers 
thenciselves were in part those of a Monarchy, and in part of a Republic. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 253 

wliere in the history of politics. That power of being able to veto 
the acts of their own Parhament, is without example. 

Each State was governed, too, by a Democratic State Legislature, 
composed of all the voters of the State, meeting in assembly ( Oon- 
gregatio) four times a year. 

By one of those anomalies, of which one finds so many in Hun- 
gary, the Governor (Obergespan) of each State, and ex-offi,cio Pres- 
ident of this Legislature, and the only one able to summon the 
Legislature, was appointed by the Crown for life. 

It seems as if the influence of this officer were designed to be the 
great centralizing influence opposed to this independent provincial 
Administration. 

He had the power of " approval " for all the candidates for 
State-offices ; that is, out of a certain number presented by the 
votere, he could select the three from which a choice was to be 
made. 

Over the election for Parliament, however, he did not possess this 
control. Without his presence, or that of the Vicegespan, no session 
of the Legislature was legal, though he was pledged to call this 
together at least four times a year. 

The Obergespan was in addition, the Chief Magistrate of the 
State, with control over all its coui-ts, and its police. He held also 
his own courts, both civil and criminal. The execution of the acts 
of the Legislature, as well as of the orders from the " State Depart- 
ment," or " Home Office," approved by the Legislature, was entrusted 
to him. Communications between the State and its Deputies passed 
through him. He had the care too, of the proper division of the 
taxes, and the control of various charitable mattei-s, as for instance, 
of the interests of the orphans. It was his duty finally, to summon 



2rA THE '-CONGREGATIO." 

all the voters of the State every three yeai-s, to the election [Restau- 
ratio) of State officers. 

It might be supposed, from all this power given to the Oberges- 
pan, that the Crown would gain too much influence in the State 
elections. 

This was not the fact, however. The place became a very popu- 
lar one, and the man desirous of obtaining it, would wish to please 
the voters. The " three candidates " presented, were generally those 
who had the largest parties supporting them. And if any Governor 
ever attempted to force upon the people an unpopular candidate, he 
met with such a reception, that he was very glad to yield as quickly 
as possible. 

Indeed, it is said that some of the more arbitrary Royal Governors 
in the excitement of a rough election, have been thrown summarily 
out of the windows, for showing an improper favoritism to certain 
candidates. 

This Legislature, as I have said, was at the head of the adminis- 
tration of each State. 

It controlled all the domestic taxes — fixed the rate for each parish 
— drew up the lists and classifications of the contributions to Gov- 
ernment. It regulated the condition of the schools and the prisons, 
and the number of the prisoner ; it watched over the pohce of the 
State, and could demand an account of all the officials, and order 
force to be used on those who were resisting the sentences of the 
Com-ts. It could settle the differences between landlords and peas- 
ants ; fix the price of bread and meat ; order the levies of soldiei-s, 
and administer in general all the affaii-s of its State, except that it 
could not constitute itself a Court to sit in judgment on any case, 
unless it was a case affecting its own dignity. 

In addition, it was this body which exercised the rights I have 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 255 

before mentioned. It chose the members for the National Assem- 
bly — instructed them — recalled them. 

Before it, the measm-es agitated in the Parliament were discussed, 
and by it the obnoxious acts were rejected. All communications 
from the State to the other States, or to the General Government, 
were made in this body. 

In fact, the result of all this was, that the State Legislature — or 
the Congregationes as they were called — governed Hungaiy, more 
than the National Assembly. 

They discussed and decided on the measures which were often 
only voted upon in the Parliament. If at any time they did not 
happen to be in session at the critical moment, there was a smaller 
Extra-Legislature, [Congregatio Particularism) which could be 
readily summoned, and could decide any matter until the next ses- 
sion. 

Besides these elections, the grand event of the political life of the 
States was the great States Election [Restaur atio), held every 
three years, in which every officer except the highest was to be 
chosen. 

Of course, under the present Government, I could not see one of 
these great elections, but I am assured by those familiar with them 
that it was one of the most stirring spectacles in the world, and 
that all the old Anglo-Saxon accompaniments of an election — 
broken heads and stump-speaking, drinking and processions, and 
" chairing," and pohtical spouting — were there in their perfection. 

Where several thousand voters collected together in one village, 
once in every three years, to elect all the important local officers for 
the next term, and where parties raged so high as in Hungary, it 
may well be imagined there would be intense excitement. I have 
heard, though not often, of several hves being lost in those election 



256 ELECTIONS. 

rows ; yet all say, tliat after the election was once decided, they 
all met as amicably and jovially at the public tables of the Governor 
as though nothing had occurred. At the election, the Governor or 
the Vicegespan presided always, with the right of " approving" the 
candidates. The choice was made by acclamation, or, if there was 
much contest, by ballot. 

In addition to these divisions into Comitats, or States, as I have 
called them, there were still further subdivisions into " Districts," 
and again into " Parishes of the Districts," of which there were from 
fom- to six in each Comitat. At the head of every district were the 
District Judge and a board of " selectmen," {Jurassores^'^ chosen 
at the State election mentioned above. 

These had for their duties to watch especially the condition of 
road and bridges, to care for the public health and safety, the proper 
quartering of the regular soldiers, and the just division of the taxes 
among the single Parishes. They formed together a Court for cer- 
tain minor offenses, and no State Courts can be held without their 
presence. The orders of the State Legislature and the " circulars" 
of the Home-office are transmitted by them often to the Parish 
magistrates. 

Each Parish (Communitas) again had its separate local govern- 
ment as well as the District or State. 

This was composed of the Village Judge, an Assistant Judge, the 
Selectmen, and Clerk [Notarius.) All these officers were chosen 
by the villager and by the freeholders of the Parish. The Lord of 
the Manor here had the same power as the King in the State elec- 
tions ; out of the candidates presented he could select three, from 
whom the choice was to be made for village Judge. Howevei", if he 
selected unpopular candidates, or if there were several Lords of the 
* This is a word of the Hungarian Law-Latin. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 257 

Manor not agreeing in the candidates to " approve," the District 
Judge whom I have before mentioned, had the power, after three 
days, to present the three candidates for the office without consulting 
either party. 

Many of the Parishes were entirely freed from the interference of 
the Lords of the Manor. 

All the other officei-s of the Parish were chosen by the villagers, 
without any " pi-esentation " of candidates ; though in the appoint- 
ment of Clerk, the Noblemen of the Parish had the power of rejec- 
tion. 

The duties of this board of Selectmen, and Judges in each village, 
were to oversee the condition of roads and bridges, and Parish 
buildings, to regulate the local police ; to attend to the execution of 
the orders of the District Judge and of the State Legislature ; to 
divide the assessments among the individual inhabitants, and send 
in the lists to the collector ; to levy, in company with the Clerk 
the appointed number of conscripts for the army, and with the cor- 
poration of the resident Noblemen, to provide for the poor of the 
Parish. 

The Clerk and Judge were obliged each year to present an esti- 
mate of the probable expenses of the coming year to the Lord of 
the Manor, for his approval. All the accounts of the Parish were 
handed in likewise to him annually ; and if he neglected to examine 
them, the expenses of the investigation by the State officers, later, 
came upon his shoulders. 

These village judges, as I often observed in my journey, are the 
most intelligent peasants of the countiy — and though sometimes 
liable to the Feudal labor, they have become as expert and efficient 
magistrates as can be found anywhere. During his office, no vil- 



•^5? POLITICAL EDUCATION. 

lage magistrate, or official, can be called upon for his Feudal obli- 
gations. 

Despite such a manifold administration, the expenses of all this 
were very slight indeed. Some of the Comitate were as large as 
the Principalities of Germany — the Pesther, for instance, with 
500,000 inhabitants — ^yet the salaries were hardly larger than a 
workman's wages with us. 

The offices were made, as much as possible, places of honor, and 
the citizens served for the excitement or for the fame, and received 
only what would pay their extra expenses. 

The salary of the Governor, or Obergespan, was 1,500 fl. (about 
$750 ;) of the Vice-gespan, $300 ; of the District Judge, $150 ; of 
the Selectmen, $50 ; of the State Treasurer, $150, and of the other 
officers, in similar proportion. These salaries differed in different 
Comiiats^ but this was the maximum. 

The Parish officers received somewhat more, in proportion to their 
rank, than the State officere, so that the peasants might have more 
inducements to serve. 

This, then, was the internal system of Government in Hungary. 
And we ask any candid man, whether it was not wonderfully adapted 
to train and educate a people in political life. 1 have seen nothing 
like this system in any part of Europe, except Switzerland and Eng- 
land. 

The people here — first in the village, then in the District, then in 
the State — are constantly exercised in the details of politics. Each 
little local division is trained in self-government. Men get into the 
habit, from early life, as with us, of referring everything to public 
opinion — to the ballot box. They all become accustomed, too, to 
public speaking — to the holding of deliberative bodies — to the minor 
difficulties and labors of local administration. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 259 

There is no reference, continually, to the Capital, " What will 
Paris do ?" Each District and State has its own opinions and prin- 
ciples, and will cany them out, too, whether Parliament and the 
Capital are favorable or not. 

That strange inexperience in practical politics, which meets the 
American traveller everywhere on the Continent, does not come be- 
fore him in Hungary. The contrast between Germany and Hun- 
gary in this respect, to the stranger, is very striking. 

That there were great faults, however, in this Hungarian system 
of government, I would not attempt to deny. 

It was, on one side, too democratic. There was too little " cen- 
tralization." The Provincial Legislatures were too much separated 
from the Central Government. An order from the General Admin- 
istration might lie for years, without being executed — or even after 
that time, be rejected. 

The sentences of the Supreme Courts, also, were only carried 
into effect with the greatest difficulty, and after long delay. There 
were so many provincial bodies and officere to examine and approve, 
that the Executive became almost powerless. 

For one, I have no doubt that the miserable condition of the 
land, in respect to roads, and bridges, and " public improvements " 
and the carriage of the mails, resulted much from this system. 
Any measure demanding great capital and combined action through 
the land, never could be carried out in Hungary. 

The other gi'eat defect was in the limited extension of suffi'age. 

It is difficult to estimate exactly the number of votei-s in Hun- 
gary before 1848, but it is probable there were, not including thosf 
of Transylvania, 455,000, which, with a population of about 
14,000,000, would give, roughly, one in thirty for a voter. 

In England, before the Reform Bill, the proportion must have 



260 SUFFRAGE. 

been, one in sixty or seventy. At present, the ratio is calculated a^" 
about one in twenty-five, only a little better than the old Hungarian 
basis. 

The qualification, however, in England, is, of course, much to be 
preferred — being property and not birth, as it was with the mass of 
electoi-s in Hungary, though, be it remembered, that here, " birth " 
never necessarily implies rank. 

The Hungarian Parliament, in 1848, — even as the English by 
the Reform Bill — remedied this old defect, and changed both the 
extention and the quahfication of suffrage. The right of suffrage was 
made quite as universal as it is here. Every man, under a few 
appropriate conditions, was admitted to vote. 

Kossuth, too, designed to remedy the old difficulties of adminis- 
tration, and to give the Executive more power — at the same time 
preserving the local and State Governments. 

As I said, such a Constitution as this of Hungary's, needed only 
a few reforms — given to it in 1848 — to make it a most complete 
Republican, and even Democratic system. 



CHAPTEE XXXII. 

A Gentleman's Estate. 

After leaving Debreczin, I journeyed on in the Bihar Comitat, 
towards a large estate belonging to a distinguished family, to whom 
I had letters of introduction. As I rode along over the PuSzta 
from the North towards it, I wondered for a long time where it 
could lie. On every side to the horizon the plain stretched away, 
and with the exception of one or two villages off to the right, I 
could scarcely see any cultivated or inhabited gi'ound upon it. It 
seemed an unusually barren Puszta, and was much covered with 
water from the late rains ; so that even the herds of cattle, that 
commonly dot these plains, were not at all visible. The only signs 
of Hfe, were the droves of swine on the dry parts of the meadows, 
and an occasional mounted gens cfarme^ with his bright helmet and 
white coat, scouring the roads. Though we bad three fine powerful 
horses, harnessed abreast, of course, in our Vorspann, we made but 
slow progress through the deep mud of the roads. At length, 
after a tedious ride, the Kutscher pointed to something which appa- 
rently concerned me, and I saw it was a clump of green, rising like 
an oasis from the plain, off at some distance on our left. We 



262 INTRODUCTION. 

turned soon on a cross road, and gradually began to discern the 
parts of the green mass. 

First, there seemed a line of bushes, and, behind these, a long 
row of out-houses, stretching in a curve around a part of a densely- 
wooded enclosure. 

The buildings appeared to be houses for workmen, stables, pens 
for cattle and horses, of which last I could see a great number. 
Before I could continue my observations, we had crossed a little 
bridge, entered a park gate, and were in fi'ont of a handsome 
countiy-house. 

"While getting off my travelling-coat, and disencumbering myself 
from the various articles of the journey, I sent in my letter of intro- 
duction by the servant, who increased no little the surprise at my 
arrival, by announcing " A gentleman from Asia !" I had merely 
sent it in to avoid the awkwardness of introducing myself, but the 
gentleman thought I was waiting outside till he could read the 
letter ; and the moment he saw the name of his friend, from whom 
it came, he ran out with true Hungarian hospitality, almost indig- 
nant that " any friend of C. F. should ever wait outside his door." 

I was soon at home in a most hospitable family of refined and 
polished people, who welcomed me especially as the friend of their 
friend, but, most of all, as an American. I may not disclose private 
life, and speak more particularly of that generous, noble-hearted 
family — the beau ideal of a Hungarian gentleman's family. Soitow 
and disaster had beaten over them mournfully in the past, but it 
had not broken a certain nobleness and greatness of mind, such as I 
have scarcely ever seen in any person. 

The memory has not left them, nor will soon leave Hungary, of 
a young man fii-st commencing pohtical Ufe, about twenty yeara 
since, in the partv of Kossuth. A youth of wonderful eloquence in 



HUNGARY IN 1851 263 

speaking, of inexhaustible ardor for the cause of hberty and progress, 
one whose noble beauty and thrilling voice, young as he was, are 
not yet forgotten in Hungary. He went, in these struggles, hand 
in hand, with another young man from a distinguished family in 
Eastern Hungary, The time came when Austria would stifle these 
first efforts for liberty. Kossuth was imprisoned, and this young 
man's friend was sent to a loathsome dungeon. Sympathy with his 
friend, despair for his country, worked on his mind until he became 
a maniac; and he lives, hopelessly insane, in the Hospital in 
Vienna. He was the hope and stay of this family of my host, and 
the wrinkles on the forehead of the grey-headed father show that 
long years have not worn away the remembrance. It is a singular 
fact — one showing the intensity of feeling peculiar to the Hunga- 
rians in these political questions — that his friend, after three years' 
fearful imprisonment, was released by the Austrian Government 
also in hopeless idiocy. 

These facts would seem hardly credible ; but any Hungarian 
will confirm them, for these young men are Avell remembered, as the 
first victims in the terrible sacrifice to Austria. 

I would gladly say more of this family ; for I can never forget 
the simple nobleness and truthfulness of each — the overflowing 
love towards their country — the passionate eloquence with which 
even the ladies spoke of its wrongs. There is something in such a 
family which we never see in any of the European circles ; a natu- 
ralness, a fire, a sweep of feeling and passion, and, at the same 
time, a delicacy and refinement such as one never beholds united in 
our more artificial races. It is as if the passion and poetry of the 
East, and the strength and refinement of the West were mingled. 
The gi-ey-headed father seemed to me like a chieftain of the Puszta, 
with thei manners of an English gentleman. 



264 THE PARK. 

We sat down soon after niy arrival, to a dinner cooked and served 
in the most refined style — a social and cheerful meal, but with no 
tinge of grossness in it, and, after the usual " after-dinner coffee," 
several of them went out to show me the estate. 

If I had been surprised at seeing beforehand, on my ride, so few 
signs of the neighborhood of the Pai'k, I was still more surprised at 
" the surroundings," when I was once in it. 

It was a complete island in the sea of plains around it — an oasis 
in the barren Puszta. The Park, immediately around the house, 
almost circular in shape, was entirely surrounded by a grassed 
terrace and a deep ditch ; so that, as one walked upon it, looking 
off upon the flat, barren, limitless plain, it seemed hke walking upon 
the beach of an island. On one side only the cultivated fields of the 
estate extended, guarded by groves of young trees. The outhouses 
which I had first seen, were carefully screened from the Park by 
bushes and trees. 

This gentleman had come here thirty years before, when there 
was nothing^shrub, or flower, or tree — except two old sycamores — 
upon the barren plain — and, with a pertinacity and energy worthy 
of all gratitude from posterity, he has made it into a beautiful 
English-like Park. He was obliged to bring the soil, almost ; plant 
the trees ; drain ; build the knolls ; arrange the shrubbery ; sow the 
grass, and, amid it all, wait patiently for years before the least fruit 
of his labors could be enjoyed. I scarcely evei heard of greater per- 
severance in plans of beautifying ; but thanks to his energy and the 
skill of an English gardener, he has succeeded. 

The Park is not very large, but exceedingly tasteful, and so 
aiTanged as to give one the impression of great size. It is full of 
trees of fine, large gi'owth, disposed so as to make beautiful vistas, 
and to produce veiy fine shadings of color. 



HUNGARY IN 1851 265 

Occasionally, in the midst of the trees, one comes upon a pretty, 
green lawn, rolled down, as if in an English park ; and again the 
walk carries you over a knoll, built of brick work and covered with 
turf. There are forest seats and arbors, and wild vines, too ; and in 
it all, I have never seen such an instance of what mere perseverance 
and means could produce of beauty from very poor materials. 
Indeed, there are not many prettier estates, if one considers the size, 
in Hungary. If any man ever " made the desert blossom," he has 
done it. In front of the house, an open ground of flowers and well 
shorn turf extends down to the gate, where is the road, winding 
through shrubbery, which carries one to the Puszta, On the left, 
are houses for the tutor and the children under him, and beyond, 
behind the trees, the fields of grain belonging to the estate. I went 
out to look at them. 

AU well kept, and showing good farming, with the usual Hunga- 
rian crops. 

Lucerne^ in good quantities, I saw, as almost everywhere, cut 
four times always, this gentleman tells me. Wheat, rye, Indian 
corn, too, as on our farms. Several large fields of vines also, from 
which he makes his own wine, though necessarily rather a sour one, 
growing in this soil and situation. Tobacco, like many another planter, 
he has given up planting, since this new law, which, in common 
with others, he considers extortionary. 

I went over the stables too. Most of the horses were of the 
usual small, fine-limbed breed, badly kept ; there were, however, 
some large, heavy, carriage horses, I think of the old Spanish stock. 
Two beautiful English "hunters," with their long bodies, deep 
shoulders and muscular necks, were there, evidently of very pure 
blood, imported by this gentleman. 

He had not suffered from the manumission of the serfs from feu- 
12 



266 WAGES. 

dal labor, as his property had not rested much in that class of work- 
men. Most of his men now, he said, were paid by taking so much 
from the crops which they labored upon and gathered. Wages, 
however, when he did pay them, amounted to about twenty 
kreutzers (fifteen cents) a day ! Good land there, he thought, 
was worth from twenty to twenty-five dollare an acre. One can 
hardly understand how the price of labor can be so cheap compared 
with that of land. But they all call it dear, and say that wages 
before and in the Revolution, were very much less, often only six 
or eight cents a day. 

However, w^e must remember that Hungary is a land rich in 
" wine and corn " and that all the necessaries of life are very cheap. 
Wages have probably risen, because the Bauer do not see the neces- 
sity of working for others, when only their little patch of corn and 
vines, with a drove of hogs, and perhaps a cow or two, will easily 
keep them through the year. 

This will all change, however. New wants will come with new 
civUization, and the peasant will throw away his sheep-skin for 
something finer, and change his pork-fat and red pepper diet for 
some foreign luxm-ies, and then will work enough for wages, if he is 
wanted. 

In the evening we sat down to a supper beautifully served, of 
many courees, according to the Hungarian custom, though after all 
there is little heavy eating or di'inking at refined tables in Hungary. 

At the close, we all rose and bowed low to one another, and the 
daughtere kissed the father's hand. 

I never went among any circle of the upper classes in Hungary, 
without being struck with the exceeding beauty of tone in the Hun- 
garian language. The nation, as I have often remarked, are a 
people of natm'al oratoi's, and the language is remai-kable for its 



HUNGARY IN 1851 267 

frequent use of vowels and liquids. So that, in a refined company 
■where they are speaking in their earnest, passionate way, the sound 
of the words, even if one does not understand them, is wonderfully 
beautiful. To my mind, the Italian language will not at all equal 
it in melody. It has, too, always, something plaintive and sad in it 
to my ear, and I find others notice it also. The same thing is ti'ue 
of their poetry, their national aire, their eloquence. Is there indeed 
something in the very nature and disposition of this people, which 
is an omen of its destiny ? Can it be, I thought to myself that 
evening, as I sat hstening to the plaintive Hungarian melodies and 
the rich-toned voices about me ; can it be that this noble, generous- 
hearted people are to pass away utterly from the list of nations. 

It has often in Hungary seemed to me almost incredible, impos- 
sible, that a race so passionately loving its independence, so ready to 
suffer all for their country, so brave and manly too, could ever really 
be ti-ampled down and forced into the condition of a subject peo- 
ple by such a government as the Austrian. But alas ! what Hun- 
garian ever loved his plains as the Jew loved Jerusalem, or as the 
Pole loved his cities and his gallant republic ? Stupidity and Bru- 
tality can tread down Nobleness and Freedom. God allows it — for 
a time — but not for ever, as He is good. 

There was something apparent in this family, and in fact, through 
all Ilungaiy, which is not at aU to be conveyed by description, yet 
which left the deepest impression on me. A kind of dramatic air. 
It was as if throughout my whole journey, I was among the actors 
in a grand Tragedy, but a real tragedy. There are combinations in 
human circumstances, which may produce results more dramatic, 
more poetic than poets have ever pictured ; and it seemed to me 
it was so in Hungary. 

And yet all this is impossible to be conveyed in words to others. 



268 THE LADIES— ELOQUENCE. 

It consists so mucli in slight things ; in the impassioned voice, the 
glance, the gesture, the words quickly uttered, but vibrating to one's 
very heart, the habits and almost unconscious expressions. 

I have heard many eloquent voices and distinguished orators, but 
I certainly never listened to tones which thrilled so on my ear, or 
thrill still in memory on my heart, as those of the ladies in this 
family when they spoke of Hungary and the Heaven-appealing 
wrongs which had oppressed her ; and described the noble-hearted 
whom they had known, who had died for her so gladly, but so use- 
lessly. 

Much as I should desire it, I do not feel myself permitted to say 
more of this true-hearted Hungarian family ; one of the best exam- 
ples of the Hungarian character. I talked much with them of their 
relations in foreign lands, in exile and disgrace, for struggling for 
Hungary ; of Kossuth, whom they knew and loved well, the out- 
cast and the fugitive. I was surprised to find in our convei-sations, 
that they all still beheved Gorgey was no traitor ; and that he had 
only surrendered when there was no other coui-se left him. 

After a few days pleasant visit, I bade adieu, feehng as if I had 
known them all for years, and with a regret which hung about me 
for days, until the strange contrasts before me, drove it all out of 
my mind. 

It may be that in the stormy years before them in Hungary, 
they may yet be driven out from their beautiful home to the free Land 
over the waters. If they are, I do not promise much, when I say, 
that many a hearty hand of welcome, wiU be stretched out to meet 
them fi-om me and mine. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Gros Wardein — Social Life. 

From this gentleman's estate, my journey continued on in an 
easterly direction, until at length, after various similar experiences in 
Hungarian country-life, I approached Gros Wardein. 

The neighborhood was indicated some time before we reached it, 
by a stretch of very beautiful hills covered with the vine — a feature 
of the landscape which I had abundant opportunities of studying 
afterwards. Some of the wine made on these vineyards is very 
choice indeed ; much better than the sour wine of the plains. 

The gipsies appear to frequent all this part of Hungary ; we passed 
occasionally little encampments of them. They are in great request 
it is said, for musical entertainments. One of the first things my 
friends recommended me to see in this Comitat, was a celebrated 
band of Gipsey-musicians. However, I never could find them ; and 
only heard the common bands, whose performances are poor 
enough. 

My companions, as we rode along, related some marvellous 
stories of a certain English traveller, who had been here — and of his 
influence over the gipsies. 



270 GIPSIES— MR. BORROW. 

One of them said, that he was walking out with him one day, 
when they met a poor gipsey woman. The EngUshman addressed 
her in Hungarian, and she answered in the usual disdainful way. 
He changed his language, however, and spoke a word or two in an 
unknown tongue. 

The woman's face lighted up in an instant, and she replied in the 
most passionate, eager way, and after some conversation, dragged 
him away, almost with her. After this, the EngUsh gentleman 
visited a number of their most private gatherings, and was received 
everywhere as one of them. He did more good among them, all 
said, than all the laws over them, or the benevolent efforts for them, 
of the last half century. They described his appearance — his tall, 
lank, muscular form, and mentioned that he had been much in 
Spain, and I saw that it must be that most ubiquitous of travellers 
— Mr. Borrow. 

As we approached Gros Wardein, we passed a large heath, well 
known as the place where an immense force of militia was drawn 
out, during the last war, to oppose the progress of the Russians. 

On the 1 8th of June, it will be remembered, the Russians entered 
the mountain-passes of Hungary on the North. A wing of the 
main army, under Qeodajeff^ some 25,000 strong, marched rapidly 
down through the deserted highway, and, much to the surprise of 
the inhabitants, appeared before Debreczin on the 2d of July. It 
was feared this body might continue its forced march, and unite 
with the hostile forces on the South. Accordingly, the militia, in 
the neighborhood of Gros Wardein, at once collected with the 
greatest enthusiasm, and, in such formidable bodies, that the Rus- 
sian General was glad to evacuate Debreczin, and retreat behind the 
Theiss. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 271 

On the very outskirts of the town, the vineyards and gardens 
presented a singular aspect from the effects of a violent hail-storm, 
which had just passed over them. Every tree looked as our trees 
do, after the ravages of a swarm of canker-worms. 

Sheep, and even some children, it was said, had been killed by 
the hail-stones. It shows the remarkable extremes of climate in 
this region, that snow often falls here in the winter so as to fill up 
every road — and even to drift up to the roofs of the cottages — while 
delicious grapes and melons ripen everywhere in the summer. The 
little boy in the carriage with me, the son of a gentleman I had 
been visiting, gave a shout of joy when he saw the fields of General 

R (an Austrian officer, " a second Haynau," they said), all 

stripped by the storm. 

Just within the town, my companions pointed out to me a fine 
large park, and handsome house, belonging to a Roman Catholic 
Bishop^ much beloved by the people, and now in an Austrian prison 
{Arad, I believe), sentenced to imprisonment for twenty years. One 
of the truest Hungarian patriots, they said — and they were zealous 
Protestants themselves. It perhaps is not known in America, how 
nobly many of the Catholic clergy sacrificed all for Hungary. 

The celebrated priest, Wimmer^ who had won the confidence of 
the whole people, by his self-denying efforts among the poor, in 
estabhshing schools, and improving agriculture, organized and com- 
manded personally, a division of the National Guards. 

Many others proved their devotion to Hungary by dying on the 
scaffold, or the gallows for their cause. 

The Catholic clergy of Hungary is perhaps the most richly- 
endowed in the world. 

The Archbishoj) of Gran, who is at the head of the Church, has 



272 POLICE-SYSTEM. 

an income valued by some at $100,000, and by others,* at 
1250,000. 

The revenues of the Bishop of Erlau were once estimated at 
about $30,000 ; and those of the Bishop of Agram are put novr, as 
about $100,000 ! The collected incomes of the vphole clergy are 
valued now at $1,620,000. 

Those of the Greek non-united Church, are much less — not 
more than $300,000. 

On entering the town, I drove directly to the house of a gentle- 
man, who was expecting me, to whom I had been introduced by the 
Protestant Bishop of Debreczin, Prof. Cz . 

The Professor had been abroad, during the Revolution, with a 
pupil, and was not at all one of " the compromised party," at 
which I felt more secure, for it was evident I was getting under a 
much more oppressive police system, than in other parts of 
Hungary. 

Men spoke far more guardedly with one another, and as, of course, 
I could not generally lead the convereation, I observed in my friend's 
house, it turned much less on pohtics, than it had everywhere 
before. 

Gros Wardein is one of the great military stations for the 
Austidans in Hungary, and naturally their rule is more lawless and 
strict here. 

In the course of the first day, we all went out to see the city. 
Gros Wardein is a place of about 20,000 inhabitants, but with much 
better-built houses than the other inland cities. The streets are 
very broad, and there are many fine market-places, which give a 
very pleasant aspect to the town. The houses, as in Debreczin, are 
all of one stoiy. The majority of the population are Catholics, and 

* Springer — Statistik von Ungarn. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 273 

of coui-se, the place is full of churches. It formerly boasted of more 
than seventy — there cannot now be more than twenty-five. 

If Hungary ever should be a prosperous State again, this city 
would be the great manufacturing centre of the country. The best 
water-power I have seen in Hungary, is here from the river Koros 
•and its branches ; and through this town must pass all the lines of 
rail-road connecting Eastern Hungary, Transylvania, and even 
Turkey with the capital. 

Kossuth and his associates discerned this at once, and made the 
city their great military depot, and manufactory. 

Guns were made, cannon cast, clothing manufactured here, and 
the city was busy enough during the War of independence. 

At the present time, it presents a much more lively appearance 
than the other Hungarian cities, and seems yet to be manufaetui-ing 
a httle in wooUens. 

In the course of the day I was introduced at the club, or Casino, 
where there were some very good reading-rooms, with German and 
Hungarian papers, and a few billiard-tables. 

After some agreeable conversation there, I called with my friend 
on the various persons to whom I had letters. 

I was well received, but I could not but notice through all a de- 
pression, a restraint, which showed the weight of the oppressive rule 
over them. Pohtics were carefully avoided, and when one of the 
party commenced to repeat a good German epigram, which was 
going the rounds against Austria, I noticed the others checked him 
at once, and the subject was changed. No one seemed at ease. 
The streets and hotels too, were full of the white-coated Austrian 
soldiei-s. The whole, with the gloomy, rainy, weather, left a 
depressing effect upon me, and I observed to my companion that I 
would shorten nay stay here, and go at once, the next day, to some 
12* 



274 GENERAL G . 

curious sulphur-baths in the neighborhood, and then visit a promi- 
nent nobleman, near by — M. de Tisza, to -whom I had letters — of 
whose estimable family I had heai'd the highest accounts all thi'ough 
Hungary. 

Among our other visits, was one upon the only survivor of the 
fourteen generals, tried and condemned by the Austrian Courts, at 
the close of the War, 

Thirteen were shot almost in a squad, and this man, the fourteenth, 
was respited, because he had opposed the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, and had refused, I think, to serve after that. He had been 
an officer in the Emperor's service for twenty years before the Revo- 
lution. He is evidently " loyal" enough now. 

A hearty, whole-souled man, I should think, with a true soldier's 
honor, but a mere Haudegen, as they call him, " Slasher^'' no 
General, and no man for the new times. Such men will not be of 
much use, when the next Revolution breaks out in Hungary. 

At the dinner hour, as Professor C. did not dine at his house, we 
both proceeded to a Hotel near by. 

The salle was crowded with dashing Austrian officere, mostly 
engaged in drinking Hungarian wine, and swearing at Hungarian 
quarters. At length, we found a httle table in one corner, where 
there were already two gentlemen, sitting, and ordered our dinner. 

In the course of the meal, my friend engaged the two others in 
convereation, and perhaps to show that he had an American as an 
acquaintance, asked me a question about Ujhazy's Hungarian Colony 
in America. 

I remember, I answered in a general way, that the " soil was very 
good, climate favorable," that " they all had to work very hard, like 
all the emigrants in America," and " that Ujhazy was much respected 
in America, &c," 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 275 

I recollect at the time, I avoided all farther conversation, from a 
kind of mistrust I felt of the two men at the table. I could 
scarcely tell why — perhaps because they were evidently not Hun- 
garians — perhaps from some undefinable expression in their faces. 
However, I thought no more of it, and left the Hotel with my 
friend, to pay my visits to my various acquaintances. 

The evening I spent in writing home, and the next day went 
abroad again to see the curiosities, and notabilities of the city. In 
the course of our visits, we called upon the Ohergespan (Governor,) 
of the Comitat. We had scarcely exchanged greetings, when he 
said to my friend, that the gentleman was under suspicion, as he had 
not handed in his Passe to the Police !" 

I rephed, that "I had supposed twenty-four hours would be 
allowed here, as in the other Hungarian cities, and, as no one had 
demanded it, on entering the town, I had not handed it in — but 
that I would go directly to the Place- Commandant.'''' 

He commenced some explanations, which I cut short, and wished 
him " Good morning," feeling a httle nettled at his whole manner, 
and proceeded immediately to the ofi&ce of the Commandant. 

He took the Passe, said there would be no difficulties, that he 
would hand it to the General for inspection, and I could send for it, 
in the afternoon — all in the pleasantest, politest way- -and I left, 
feeling quite reheved, as I knew they would be glad of any pretext, 
to proceed against an American. 



CHAPTEK XXXIV. 

The Arrest. 

In the afternoon, after this occurrence, I went to a dinner-party 
to which I had been invited. We were in the midst of a veiy 
pleasant convei-sation, my friends congratulating me that all pre- 
tense for proceedings from the Authorities was taken away, and I 
telling a story of the Viennese Police, when we were suddenly inter- 
rupted by the appearance of a little gentleman in black, followed by 
a gens d'arme. The small gentleman announced himself as the 
" Chief of Police," with a " warrant for my arrest and the examina- 
tion of my papers, on charge of my having Proclamations /" We 
took the matter very quietly, and asked the Chief to sit down with 
us. I ate two plates of the Hungarian Strudel, (pudding,) to show 
my indifference and then we all drank coflFee and smoked together, 
and diove around in company to the house of my friend. 

Before going, I expressed ray regret to the lady — our hostess — 
at such an unpleasant interruption. She assui-ed me, they had 
become quite used to such things. " We Hungarians expect nothing 
else now !" 

In riding around, the gens d'arme told me, that the warrant had 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 877 

been given him the day before (not six hours after my arrival,) and, 
as I was stopping at a private house, he could not find me, and had 
searched all through that stormy night in every hotel and lodging- 
house of the city ! At my friend's house, we found a sentinel 
already stationed, and all my writings and books collected together 
in a bundle. I could not but smile to myself at the idea of my 
papers being faithfully examined for dangerous political sentiments, 
as they were either affectionate letters fi-om friends, or sentimental 
and religious effusions of my own, written in a veiy bad hand, and 
very dull to any one but the author. However, I expressed myself 
to the Director that such proceedings on the part of the authori- 
ties against strangers, would be found not for the interest of Austria 
herself. 

After a close examination of my friend's eflfects, the gens cfarme 
drove me to the ofiice of one of the militaiy authorities, left my 
portfolio and papers there, and then rode to his barracks, " where 
I would be obliged to wait a short time," he said. It was a little 
mess-room, where he left me, with sabres, and hunting-flasks, and 
German love ditties, and pipes scattered about — and a small colony 
of terrier pups under the table. I waited long, looking at everything 
in the room and without, and wondering what the end of all this 
was going to be. 

At last, he returned, and said I must accompany him " for a tem- 
porary arrest." I followed, and we drove to the old castle, outside 
of the city. 

As we rode through the heavy old arched gateway, into the 
Court vsdthin, I looked around curiously at the gi-im walls, and could 
not but feel a momentary heart-sinking, when I remembered how 
far I was from friend or aid, and how many a hopeful man had en- 
tered such a prison in the Austrian states, never to come forth again. 



278 NEW QUARTERS. 

However, I did not see what possible ground there could be for a 
long imprisonment, and therefore followed my gens d'arme cheerfully 
up the old stairway. He transferred me to two soldiers in the hall, 
who stood on guard over me, with fixed bayonets. Here we waited 
some time, until at length a httle officer, with a sharp voice, told 
the soldiei-s to bring me up stairs. Up, accordingly, we marched, 
and the officer asked, why I was here. " I have not the slightest 
idea," I replied ; " I supposed it was because I was an American," 

He then said, he had commands to search my person, and, with- 
out more ceremony, proceeded to the work. Every possible hole 
and corner was searched in my pockets ; and everything to the last 
Kreutzer, and smallest bit of paper, taken out, and carefully noted 
down ; my watch and tooth-pick being the only things left me. I 
said not a word during the whole search, though I must say, if there 
is anything calculated to make a man feel like a felon, it is such a pro- 
cedure. After this was over, he took me through a dirty cell where 
were some half-dozen men — into a still dirtier, dimly lighted by a 
grated window, which was boarded up on the outside nearly to the 
top, and told me, " there were my quarters." 

I asked him if he " could give me no better ?" 

"No," said he, "I am ordered to place you here! You can 
have these two gentlemen here for company. It will be part of 
your experience as a traveller. - Oute Nacht P 

The two " gentlemen " were, the one a common Honved, con- 
victed of carrying a false pass, and the other a tailor, sentenced to 
fi\'e months, for having a concealed weapon. 

I had not been there long before a friendly voice fi-om the other 
room called me to the key-hole, and told me, " not to be hlue^ for it 
was always hard at first." 

" And, fi-iend, what is the news from our people in Eui-ope 1" 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 279 

I thought it best, under the circumstances to say as Uttle as pos- 
sible, and repHed, " I did not know at all, for I was only a travel- 
ler." Whereupon the voice wished me a good sleep, in French, 
and struck up, for my consolation, the " MarsellUse^'' with great 
spirit. 

As it may be imagined, I slept little that ' night. The sudden 
change from my most interesting travel to this dismal dtmgeon ; the 
uncertainty and strangeness of it all, were too much to allow me 
rest. At one time, it seemed a very interesting adventure, and as 
if I should easily escape the next day, after the naistake was dis- 
covered. 

At another, I thought I saw that there was a deliberate intention 
to treat me as a common criminal, and I remembered I was com- 
pletely in the power of the Austrian police. Yet I felt confident 
that not the slightest word or writing of a treasonable character, 
could be brought up against me — and, if there was the least jus- 
tice here, I was sure of coming out directly. To add to my discom- 
fit, was the filthy state of the bed, which was full of fleas and ver- 
min, so that my body on the next morning looked as if I had had 
a very unpleasant cutaneous disorder. 

The next day was Sunday, and I walked to and fro in the cell, 
waiting for the summons to the trial, which I understood was to 
take place, and longing to have such a disagreeable mistake cor- 
rected. 

At length, in the afternoon, the Provost undid the heavy bare ; 
I was placed between two soldiei-s, with fixed bayonets, and marched 
down to a room below, where the Court was sitting. 

It was a small, well-furnished room, with a large table, behind 
which sat four officers in full military dress, and a clerk ; on the 
other side, were eight soldiers with muskets — the " Beisitzer^ 



280 THE EXAMINATION. 

The officere bowed politely, and the Provost placed a seat for 
me. An intellectual-looking, keen eyed man at my end of the 
table, commenced the examination in the bland way, so peculiar to 
the Austrian officers. 

The first questions were entirely unimportant. " What is your 
name, sir ?" What is your father's name ? Where were you 
born ? What is your profession ? Where was your residence ?" 
Here a Kttle pardonable delay occurred, in the Clerk's difficulty over 
the word " Connecticut," the name of my native State. 

After these, moi'e closely, questions as to my route in Europe — 
and here every answer was compared exactly with the vises on my 
Passeporte ; then of my acquaintances, and finally the question put 
with great earnestness by the examining officer or Major. 

" What are your objects in Hungary .^" 

As I was before a court of soldiers, and as a man not accustomed 
to be ashamed of his objects anywhere, I explained fully and frankly 
my plans : 

" I am travelling in Hungary, gentlemen, as I have travelled in 
other lands, with the purpose of studying the character and man- 
nei-s of the people, and with the particular object of investigating 
the old pohtical institutions of the Hungarians. There has always 
been a want of good reports in America, with respect to the old 
Constitution of this Nation. I wished to see its workings, on 
the spot. My object has been no other than that of a candid inves- 
tigator." 

I soon saw that I had made a great mistake. I was not at all 
before a frank soldier, or a court dispensing justice, but in the hands 
of a keen, cold, heartless inquisitor, using every device to entangle 
me, and determined, from some unaccountable reason, to fasten a 
crime upon me. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 281 

" We do not believe your account, sir," said he, " we know the 
sympathy of the Americans with these revolutionists here. We 
know that no American traveller would leave the great routes of 
travel for such a vague purpose as this. You are the first who has 
ever been in the land. We know your object !" 

It was in vain I assured him that our countrymen travelled in all 
lands ; and that to a thinking man, nothing was more interesting 
than the political institutions of a country. He would hear nothing 
of it, and I gave up the controversy, by asking for '' his proofs of 
any other object ?" 

He did not answer, but continued : " But, why go to R (a village 

on the Theiss). Travellers do not visit such out-of-the-way places. 
Sir we understand you. We can prove that every one of your 
acquaintances has some connection or relative among the emigrants 
in America. We can prove that you are in a wide conspiracy. We 
understand this route of travel, and these many acquaintances. 
There is a wide complot here. I have been accustomed to trace 
plots for many years. I see your object. Speak out openly and 
confess !" 

I was startled. Such a perversion of all ideas of justice ! 

I put on an indifferent face, however, and answered — " I do not 
believe you have such pi-oofs. I do not remember a single acquaint- 
ance who has a relative in America. I have visited villages, as well 
as cities in Hungary, with the view of seeing all sides of the land." 

The next questions of the most searching kind were, as to my 
acquaintance with the Hungarian emigrants. 

Fortunately for me, I had met but few whose names I remember- 
ed, and of these, the only one of importance was Gen. Czetz, whom 
I had met in Hamburg, and who had, very politely, given me a 
note of introduction to a friend in Pesth, a Government Officer, 



282 '-PROOFS." 

which I still had with me. The note was of the simplest form ever 
used in Europe, merely — " The Herr von Czetz introduces with 
pleasui-e, Mr. Brace, to his friend Mr. S. of Pesth." Yet this was 
pounced upon with the gi-eatest avidity, by the examining Major, or 
" Auditor," as he is called. 

" We understand the countersigns and secret devices of your 
Democratic Society. You hide a conspii-acy under a few words. 

" You will enter a room and only say ' Good Morning V and you 
can convey at once under those words, some poUtical sign. There 
is some plot hidden under this introduction. Explain to the court, 
your only hope is in confession !" 

I smiled at such a pervereion, and told him " he must know the 
world veiy httle, or he would know such formal introductions were 
the commonest things — I had a dozen now in my portfolio." 

Yet, despite the bold face I put on the matter, I began to be far 
fi'om easy. I began to have a sense as if I was getting entangled 
in meshes, from which I could not escape. I saw the whole thing 
was no trifling matter, as I had at fii-st supposed. The thought that 
he might have suborned witnesses flashed over me, and I remem- 
bered how utterly helpless I was. 

The memory of all the terrible stories I had ever read in novels 
or histories of Spanish Inquisitions, came over me, and for a moment 
I had that dreamy sense, as if it was not I, but some one else, here 
in that strange pei-il. These of course were only thoughts of a 
moment, and I set myself to bide the worst, and meet the examina- 
tion carefully and manfully. 

It came out in the couree of the questioning that I had seen 
LT.THAZY once, in the streets of New York. To this, for some reason 
I could not then understand, he returned again and again. 
" Where have you spoken with him ?" 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 2S3 

" I had never spoken with him." 

" What is your connection with him ?" 

" I have none." 

" Speak out, sir, open and frankly. Do not hold back so much ! 
What is yom* agreement with Ujhazy, and where are your letters 
from him ?" 

" I have none at all. I know nothing of him." 

" Sir," said he, " be careful what you say. This is no unimportant 
matter. We know well the sympathies of your countrymen for this 
rebel leader, and for his j)arty here. We have good evidence of your 
acquaintance. Make an open, candid confession !" 

" I repeat it, and it will not be necessaiy to say it again, that I 
do not know Ujhazy, and have never spoken with him. If you 
have proofs, you must bring them -forward. I cannot understand 
how such a suspicion of my being in a complot, can have arisen ? 
Even if I had known Ujhazy, and every Hungarian emigrant in 
America, it would be no evidence of any conspiracy with them." 

Next came up the point of my having visited certain pei-sons who 
were, in 1848, engaged in the Revolution. I admitted it, but urged 
that I had also visited men of the other party, even the Govern- 
ment officials, and that my letters were to the principal men of all 
parties. 

" We understand it, sir ! That is your screen /" said he. 

In my luggage was found a pamphlet, printed in 1848, called 
" IIungary''s Good Right^'' wi'itten by Pulsky. It advocated 
strongly the Hungarian side, and at the end was a line written in 
pencil from Virgil, beginning " Graviora passi /" etc. " Oh ! ye, 
who have too sorely suffered, God shall at length bring an end to 
this too !" 

Over this the Auditor declaimed with great vehemence. This 



284 CROSS-QUESTIONING. 

pamphlet showed my cui-sed Revolutionary sentiments. " These are 
the things which you scatter among the people. Look at this line, 
sir ! God will end the sufferings of the Hungarians ! What does 
that mean ? God wiU bring aid perhaps from others !" 
^f smiled at such a storm over a quotation, and told him I had 
never observed the line before. He would notice it was not in my 
handwriting. Still I could not see anything very treasonable in it. 

" It proves nothing. I have been collecting docuinents from all 
sides, and this is one. I can prove from Vienna, that when there, I 
read works on the other side. Besides, even if it showed my political 
sentiments it does not all prove I am in a revolutionary complot. And 
furthermore, old revolutionary pamphlets, which no one reads now 
except the historical investigator, are the very last things an emissary 
would carry about with him. • If it was a modern, exciting bro- 
chure^ or a proclamation, it would be different ; but this P 

" The reading works on the other side was only natural in an 
educated man," said he, 

I then ventured to ask, " What would not be suspicious in an 
American in the view of the Austrian authorities ? It was ' sus- 
picious' to visit men of the Hungarian party, and only a ' sham' to 
visit those of the other. It was ' revolutionary' if one read books on 
one side, and proved nothing good if one read them on the other. 

" I am not here to argue," was the reply. 

Every slightest thing which the Auditor could find to make out a 
case against me, was eagerly grasped. 

I had been visiting a gentleman in the neighborhood, who was 
intimately connected with one of the leaders of the Hungarian 
party in 1848. As I was going away, he gave me his own card, 
which I could present as a card of introduction to his relative, now 
residing in England. Being in a hurry, I merely wrote down on 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 285 

the card the address in London, and dropped it in my pocket. 
This was all eagerly caught at by the prosecuting officer. 

" It was not a common card, for then there would be no pencil 
marks upon it. It was not a card of recommendation, for there is 
nothing said of introduction on it. It is the secret cover of a plot. 
Confess, sir, what there is under this ? Beside, why have you 
visited this family ?" 

" I replied that I had had a letter of introduction to the gentleman, 
and I wished especially to see something of country life and of a 
farm, on a Puszta. And, as for the card of invitation, it could not 
be thought a crime, when the gentleman himself had been allowed 
by government, to go to England to visit his relative." 

" We do not believe your reasons. Country life is the same in 
all nations ; and as for this Puszta, it is a desolate, uninteresting 
place. Confess, sir. This gentleman, who lives there, is connected 
with a distinguished rebel in England. You have letters from his 
relative. You were introduced by him !" 

" Sir," said I, " I do not know the. gentleman's relative, and there 
is no proof that I do. I was introduced to Mr. B. by a friend here 
in Hungary. Mr. B. himself has never been compromised in the 
Revolution. And you must know Hungary very httle, or you 
would know such an estate as his, is one of the most interesting 
objects to a stranger !" 

He shrugged his shoulders in utter incredulity, and proceeded to 
other questions. 

It should be mentioned here, that the earlier bland manner of the 
Auditor had become by this time quite changed. At one time he 
bullied, then turned my words, then drew me out, in hopes of my 
speaking too much ; apparently, throughout, in the fixed determina- 



286 BROW-BEATING. 

tion, from some hidden motive, of festening a " conspiracy" upon 
me. 

" I see how it is," said he, turning to the President of the Court, 
" he has been in London, Paris, and Berlin, the head-quarters of 
the democratic movements. He is acquainted with the American 
embassies. They have given him every access to these emigrants, 
and now he is carrying out their plots. Your movement is dis- 
covered, sir," turning to me, " and your only course, now, and hope, 
is in confession. Inform the Com-t what your connection with the 
Democratic Committee is, and with the Hungarian emigrants !" 

It was astonishing how suspicious, under his management, every- 
thing was made to appear. My route in Europe, which had been 
rather circuitous, showed such suspicious objects ! My entering 
Hungary, too, on such vague, philosophical motives ! My course 
of travel in the land, somewhat eccentric, owing to my wish to see 
country-life as well as city life, he either could not or would not 
understand. 

The very morning I was arrested, some spy had dogged my steps, 
and known that I put a letter in the post-office for Vienna. I 
acknowledged it, and stated that it enclosed a letter to a friend near 
New York. 

" Ha ! I understand it. You have avoided handing in yom- 
Passe, till you could communicate with your accomphces. We will ' 
examine that man in Vienna. We will show what your story is 
worth of merely ' letters to friends !' " 

I did not answer,' for I had already given my reasons for not 
handing in my passport, except to ask for " proofs." 

This long coui-se of badgering and worrying at length began to 
have its natm-al effect on me, and my replies grew as brief and curt 
as my own defense would allow, until at last, in an attempt of his 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 287 

to twist a mistake of my German into a charge against me, I rose 
up and said, " Sir, you are bound here, as public Investigator, to be 
unbiassed in this case. You are to remember I am here a stranger, 
defending myself in a foreign language. You are to take my words 
as I explain them !" 

He said nothing, and tm-ned to a farther examination of my 
papers. 

Among the many questions put on the ti'ial this day, was a long 
series in regard to the persons I had called upon, in Gross Wardein 
and Debreczin, and throughout — and my reasons therefor. 

" Your acquaintances, sir," said he, " belong to that unfortunate 
party of rebels, and were strongly compromised in the Revolution. 
What has been your object with such men ? Are you not here, an 
American, the first who has been here among the people, to sow 
another Revolution ? We know your countrymen !" 

As the examination, already some six hours in length, seemed draw- 
ing towai-ds a close, I rose, and urged some further arguments for my 
case. " Sir," said I, " as I said before, I cannot understand how 
this suspicion has arisen against me. I have told you frankly and 
freely my objects in Hungary. You will see that my whole course 
of action here has not been at all that of an emissary. I have been 
in pubhc places, I have visited men of all parties, my letters of in- 
troduction there, in my papers, are to the principal men of Hun- 
gary ; men standing far above all suspicion of joining in secret poh- 
tical intrigues. All the writings found upon me of my own will 
show my objects to have been merely those of a traveller. Alone 
here and unknown, I appeal to the American embassies in Europe, 
in Berlin, Vienna, London, for proofs that my former character has 
not been at all that of an intriguer or revolutionary conspirator !" 

" Sir," said he, interrupting me, " that has nothing to do with the 



288 ACCUSATION. 

case !" Then with his most solemn tone, " This day I am a true 
servant of my Kaiser, but God only knows into what treasonable 
plots I may fall to-morrow ! We have had such experience here 
as to show us that no purity of character is a security against join- 
ing in revolutionary efforts. You may make it a part of your 
religion to spread a Revolution P 

I could not but acknowledge the truth of it as far as Hungary 
was concerned, though I thought it did not speak especially well 
for his own party. As I saw that any farther defense was useless, 
I said no more, and listened in silence to the accusation read against 
me, nearly in these words — 

" You are a member of the Democratic Verein, {Union) and 
employed by the Committee, and an agent of JJjhazy and Csetz, 
here in Hungary, for the purpose of spreading Revolutionary 
movements /" 

As it appeared later, the only possible evidence which they had 
for this charge, besides what is mentioned above, where the words 
I had uttered in the hotel. The two men opposite us at table were 
members of the Secret Pohce, and had reported immediately that 
there was an American in the city who " spoke as if acquainted 
with Ujhazy." 

I beg the reader to consider the whole mode of this examination, 
as showing the spirit of the Court toward the accused in this case. 
A stranger is suddenly summoned before a secret Court. He is not 
allowed to hear the accusation against him. He knows nothing of 
the testimony. He is permitted no advocate nor friend ; must 
defend himself on a question, perhaps of hfe and death, in a foreign 
language. The examination is not that of a magistrate searching 
for the probabilities of an offense, but of an inquisitor determined to 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 289 

entangle and to punish. And the examining officer is at once pro- 
secutor, judge and witness for the State. 

After the charge was read, I was conducted back to my prison-^ 
room, by the Provost and two soldiers, and, as he passed through 
the fii-st cell I heard the prisoners ask him, " Will he he im 
prisoned T' " Ganz besfimmt /" (" Without a doubt,") was the 
reply. With this consolation was^I locked in for the second night. 

13 



CHAPTER XXXY. 

The Prison. 

In an Austrian Piison — and almost sentenced ! 

I threw myself on the dirty bed, and could scarcely believe it all 
real. It half seemed as if it must be a dream. 

I went back over the examination step by step. I saw that the 
Judge seemed from the first, to have i-esolved on convicting me. 
He spoke too, of " proofs," which if they were real, would be fatal to 
me. Perhaps he had bribed witnesses; or perhaps some of my 
many letters of introduction, contained expressions which would be 
twisted into evidence of a plot. 

I thought of where I might have answered better. Yet, on the 
whole, I had nothing to regret. I had come before the Court, not 
knowing the accusation, and had answered everything honestly and 
truly. It all looked hopeless enough. I knew they would be very 
glad to sentence an " American." And who could ever know or 
hear of my being there ? 

It came over me, as if all I had ever heard or read of these Aus- 
trian dungeons and secret Inquisitions was true — and true for me. 
Pei'haps my Life — all that I had wished and hoped for — all that I 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 291 

had been preparing for, was to end here, to close in this mean, 
miserable way. I might die openly without much fear — but to be 
stifled in a dark hole in this manner ! 

I thought, too, of a long imprisonment — that I should be rotting 
here the best years of my life. And there came over me a picture 
of myself returning home, rheumatic, broken in health — those I 
loved, dead, and all I knew, forgetting me — and my plans for life, 
utterly ruined. Then it seemed to me my, reason would not bear 
this, and I remembered the young Hungarian, who had come out 
from this very prison after three years, a lunatic^ and I felt sure, 
one year would do the same for me. 

The contrast, too, with my previous life, was most depressmg. I 
had not had so intei'esting or exciting a joiu-ney in Europe — and 
now to be shut up here in these narrow walls ! 

My imagination became so worked up by all this, that for a 
moment the air seemed growing close and stifling — and I sprung 
lip and walked to and fro. In the midst of my reflections, a voice 
called me to the key-hole of the next room — the same friendly voice 
which I had heard on my fii-st night. 

" Friend ! Ai-e you gloomy ?" 

" No," said I, " not at all." 

" How does it stand with your case ?" 

" Bad — though it is all suspicion — no proofs !" 

" Friend ! Do you not know the House of Austria needs no 
proofs ? Suspicion is enough /" 

I felt within myself the man was right, though I answered 
cheerily. 

I turned now for conversation to my two comrades, who were 
lying on their beds, smoking. We were already on good terms ; 
and T soon engaged them in talking. 



292 NIGHT-THOUGHTS. 

They were good-natnred fellows, but decidedly stupid. As 
it appeared from their account, the Auditor here was a noto- 
riously cruel Judge. More men had been hung by this Court 
than by any other secret Court of Hungary. There were peasants 
then in the prison, who had been here four months, on some trifling 
charge, without having a hearing ! 

After some farther talk, I laid myself down again to try to sleep. 
But with my heated brain, and the innumerable fleas, it was impos- 
sible. My mind seemed now to have recovered from its firet 
confusion. A deep, burning sense of indignation at such injustice 
settled upon me. 

The noble sympathies of my countrymen were to be revenged so 
meanly on me ! This was Austrian reprisal ! I felt glad within 
me that, if I must suffer, I could suffer for such reasons. And I was 
strong in the consciousness of the sympathy of a great Nation, if any 
act of injustice or \iolence should be performed against me. There 
arose, too, as is natural under such an unprovoked wrong, a dogged 
determination to resist — and, whatever came, to fight out the matter 
step by step. 

And, why should I hesitate to say, that the Trust in One above 
Courts and Nations, and above this oppression of men, grew that 
night more calm and strong within me. 

Though I had not slept a moment, the morning's light seemed to 
bring hope again, and I rose the next day quite cheerfully. 

One of my first proceedings was to examine my cell. The 
room was a moderately large arched chamber, such as one sees in 
the Tower of London, or in old Castles, anywhere in Europe, used 
for state prisoners. It was dirty and dark, and the only window 
was guarded by iron bars, iron net-work, and beyond on the outside, 
by a board-screen reaching to within six inches of the top. It had 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 293 

very probably always been used for a dungeon, even in the middle 
ages, when the castle was in its glory. We were held safely euougti 
within it, but to any accomplished " prison-bird," it would have 
been mere sport. The bars were loose — they had already made a 
gap in the net-work, and cut a hole in the boarding, so that v^ith 
one or two good steel saws, and a rope, a man would have been out 
at once, despite the sentinels. 

I was soon convinced, however, that without passeporte or money, 
it would be altogether useless making the attempt at escape. It 
was evident, my only hope was in sending news of this, out to our 
Embassy at Vienna — though how to do this was the question — as I 
was allowed no books or papers, and was very closely watched. The 
Provost came in the morning, and had coffee and rolls brought me, 
and gave me a certain sum from my money, for my dinners, which 
I was to order from an inn near by. Everything looked like a 
long imprisonment ; I saw that if that was to be the case, I had 
better prepare for it. As soon as possible, I had a conversation with 
the Frenchman, who had spoken to me through the key-hole. He 
was very friendly, and showed me how I could perhaps send letters 
out. 

As he had been in prison two years, I asked his advice, as to 
prison-life in general, and about preserving health. He advised 
precisely what I had before thought was the best course, to >.ake as 
much exercise as possible, avoid gloomy thoughts, and use fruit and 
light wine freely ; and, indeed to the use of this pure, beautiful light 
wine of the Hungarians, with a careful diet, I ascribe as much as 
anything my continued good health in such miserable quarters. 
This wine, which was purer and better than any light wine which 
could possibly be procured in our country, was astonishingly cheap. 
We paid even in prison, for a half bottle, only four kreutzers (three 



291 EFFORTS FOR ESCAPE. 

cents) — and the time has been, they said, when such wine could be 
bought for two cents a bottle ! 

I husbanded, however, the little money given me, as I found that 
here, as everywhere, to be the great Talisman. 

The Frenchman pointed me out soon the servant through whom 
I could procure paper and ink. I went quietly to him, as he was 
doing some work in the room — di'opped the money in his hands — 
whispered the words — while he was looking vacantly towards the 
door. 

At night, when he came again, he brought the articles. The 
"WaUach showed me a loose plank, under which they deposited such 
things — and late that night I wrote the letters. By a very good, 
fortune, the small tailor, one of my comrades, had just about fin- 
nished his term of five months. He was called down before the 
Court, the next day, probably for his hberation. I gave him the 
letters, before he went, and he put them in the lining of his boots, 
as he seemed to think any other place might be searched. He 
promised faithfully to post them. 

I never expected they would reach their destination. One was 
written to a friend in Hungary, under a disguised name, and if 
opened, would not have seemed suspicious, as it contained the illu- 
sion to an accident, which could be best aided by friends in Vienna, 
whose names were accordingly given. The other was to Mr 
Schwarz, our Consul in Vienna, calling for aid, as to a man in 
utmost need, and detailing the particulars of my imprisonment. I 
did not dare to write to Mr. McCurdy, as his name would attract 
suspicion. 

I did not think this was enough, however. The WaUach was rH 
the habit of getting conveniences for me, from the Provost's room, 
and I induced him to speak to another prisoner there, who was just 



HUNGARY IN. 1851. 295 

about to be liberated, for me. This was a. Catholic priest, a whole- 
souled generous-hearted fellow, whose fun and good humor seemed 
to enliven the whole prison. 

He was in " Provost's arrest," viz., he must confine himself to the 
Provost's chamber. 

I used often to see him, standing in the morning at the door of 
his room, in full canonicals (which he had just put on again, after 
his imprisonment), a flask of wine in one hand, and a glass in the 
other, and proclaiming, Uke a herald : " Ho ! my children ! come 
and drink ! The day of my liberation is near! Let no one be 
gloomy now !" emptying flask after flask for them.. Yet, the Pro- 
vost said, he never drank any himself. He took an intei-est in me 
from the first, and promised to do all he could for me in Vienna, 
He was too old " a bird," however, to take any papers from me, for, 
of course, as all the others, he beheved I was " deeply in," in some 
affair. 

He said, he had been searched twenty-five times for Revolutionary 
papers, and he should be cautious how he risked anything again. 

I gave him McCurdy's name and address, and he wrote themi 
backwards and in cypher in his note book. The way in which he 
kept up the conversation with me was characteristic. As we stood 
in the hall, in the morning, he would walk about piously reading 
from his prayer-book, and every time he passed me : 

"What did you say is his name? — (in louder tones from the 
book,) Oh Maria beatismne /" 

Then again, as he came back. " Ora pro nobis ! Mac Curdy, did 
you say. Oh holdseligste ! segnet uns ! Oh sanctissime ! &c." 

He was freed through some influence at Court. The prisoners 
said, and I quite believe it — that he was a sterling Democrat, and 
a most, ardent friend of the Hungarian Cause. 



296 SECOND TRIAL. 

A day or two after the first examination, I was again summoned 
by the Provost with, his two soldiers, to go to the Com-t-room. I 
went down with beating heart, thinking this was perhaps to deter- 
mine my destiny. The Auditor sat there, as bland and undisturbed 
as ever ; and the President, (Count Datjn,) a very pohte gentleman 
bowed to me as usual over the top of the " Austrian Lloyd^'' which 
he always read, when the examination became unimportant. 

The trial to-day proved to be a mere formal investigation. I was 
surprised more and more, as I saw how perfectly frivolous the proof 
was. Yet the questioning of the Auditor, and his examination of 
my papers, was the most exact conceivable. Not the smallest frag- 
ment of waste paper came before him, which he did not turn over 
and over, and question me in regard to, lest it should contain some 
sign of a conspiracy. One long religious essay which I had, was 
peculiarly suspicious. It had been written very hurriedly, and then 
left among other papers, — so that, with all my efforts before the 
Court, I could not find either beginning or end to it. My ill suc- 
cess with it, and his inability to read it, increased his suspicion, and 
the unfortunate document was carefully marked with red ink, as a 
dangerous object ! 

Even my pocket Testament was detained for fear it might conceal 
some evidence of a plot. An exact catalogue was made of every 
article, which I was obliged to sign as correct. The answers, too, 
which I made were wi'itten down at the time by the clerk, and then 
read over to me, and also given me for my signature. 

It was an inexpressible disadvantage to me, through it all, that I 
was allowed no interpreter, so that aU my defence must be in Ger- 
man. The quick answers, which are often more telling than argu- 
ments, were veiy much impeded by my speaking in a foreign lan- 
guage, and my whole defence clogged and cramped. It gave, too, 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 297 

the opportunity to the Auditor to brow-heat and " out-talk " me, 
•which he skillfully used — and also to color my answers, as they were 
nearly always slightly changed, in writing them down, and it was 
not easy for me to correct them. 

I became naturally, more and more cautious. I did not falsify, 
but I found I must be very careful not to g'i\-e them even a handle, 
on which to fasten anything. Some questions I refused to an- 
swer. Others I demanded to be thoroughly and clearly expressed, 
before I would reply. I took care, too, to see exactly how each 
answer was written down. I was in a good deal of anxiety about 
one question, that morning, though I did not show it at all. That 
was with reference to the letter I had sent to Vienna the morning 
of my arrest. It contained two letters enclosed, one for home, and 
the other for the Rev. Jos. P. Thompson, New York. The enclos- 
ing the letters alone I knew would be suspicious, and I remembered 
the fii-st night of my imprisonment, one of the prisoners spoke of 
an English agent of Kossuth, named Thompson. I thought the 
Auditor would certainly make a conspiracy, out of all this circum- 
stantial evidence. 

He did not seem as keen-scented, as usual, however, and merely 
hinted, that those letters would appear to my condemnation, yet ! 

What I had most feared, was, that something would turn up in 
my letters of introduction, which could be twisted into treasonable 
expressions, for I had so many, and, in a Hungarian's introducing an 
American, there would be such a temptation to abuse the Austrians ! 
But thus far, there were no signs of this. As to my own papers, I 
had no anxiety. I had never written lettere by post in Austria on 
anything but personal matters — and my other writings were alto- 
gether " safe," beside being peculiarly illegible. 

On getting back to my room, after this examination, as I was 
13* 



298 KEY-HOLE TALK. 

thinking over the proceedings, a voice called me again to the key- 
hole. 

" Comrade ! (this time in German, with a Hungarian accent,) can 
we do anything for you ?" 

" I thank you, no, there's nothing to be done." 

" Are you one from Shandor ?" 

" No— I don't know him." 

" Would you like to have the Teleki told you are caught — or any 
messages to her V 

" No, no. I have nothing to do with any of them. I am a tra- 
veller, arrested on suspicion. That's all !" 

" Pardon, Monsieur ! You do right to be safe. We carl com- 
municate with the Teleki, and we thought it might help her ill her 
examination, to know that you were taken. Adieu !" 

" But who are you ?" said I. 

" I am an unfortunate Hungarian — Nodj — who was in Kutaihia, 
and I returned on the promise of the Austrian Consul." 

" But why did you ever trust youi-self to the Austria,ns again V 

" Sure enough — Devil knows — farewell !" 



While the examinations lasted I had no inclination to talk to any 
one, and walked the room hour after hour, occupied in my own 
thoughts. After they were over, and the matter seemed settled for 
the present, I began to think how I had best pass my time, and I 
was soon glad enough to get into conversation with the others. 

In a few days I was allowed to walk out with the prisonei-s in the 
court, for an horn* a day. Tt was only a short walk, between two 
lines of sentinels, with fixed bayonets, yet it was the greatest etijoy- 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 299 

ment of the day to breathe fresh air again, and have a change of 
scene ! However, I can remember most distinctly with what a 
heart-sinliing I stepped out for the first time on the walls. I was at 
last Si prisoner, treated hke the others, — with God knows how long 
a confinement before me ! 

Many a curious look was fixed upon me from every j)art of the 
barracks, as the American shut up there in that distant prison. I 
soon joined myself with the Frenchman, of whom I have spoken, 
and fell into very pleasant convei'sation. He was a gentleman of 
very considerable cultivation, and had passed one of the most inte- 
resting adventurous lives I had ever heard of. The rumor in the 
prison was, that he was suspected by Government of being the 
leader in one of the dark crimes perpetrated in this revolution — the 
murder of the Austrian Minister Latour in Vienna — a crime, how- 
ever, which can find many excuses, when one considers the passion- 
ate outbreak of the people in which it occurred. 

I do not believe this man was engaged in it. Tie had been a 
Major in the Hungarian army, under Bem in Siebenbiirgen — and 
beyond this, I dare not speak of his life. A more thorough lover 
of hberty, and a more genuine democrat, I have never known. He 
had lost all in fighting for Hungary's freedom, and I am sure would 
have given it again with pleasure, for the same good cause. He 
had all the faults of his nation — the vanity and superficiality — but 
like his countrymen, and like the others in the prison, he was noble 
in his thoughts and feelings upon the great principles of Demo- 
cracy. He showed at once, great friendliness towards me, and 
assisted me then and afterwards exceedingly, in the affaii-s of the 
prison. 

"Within a few days after this walk, the doors were thrown open 
between the two rooms, and I was allowed all the privileges which 



300 OUR PRIVILEGES. 

the other prisonei-s had. These were not at all oppressively great. 
In the morning, at eight o'clock, the Provost roused us up, and we 
were permitted to walk around as we chose, in the gangway and 
through the other rooms. This was a great enjoyment, as it gave 
us an opportunity of talking with our comrades in misfortune," and 
getting, now and then, a fragment of news. Some of them cooked 
their breakfast at this time. I was permitted to order my coffee 
and kijyfel (rolls) from a tavern close by. The most of those in the 
prison had been stripped of everything, and were obhged now to 
live on the Government allowance — eight Kreutzers^ or about six 
cents a day ! With this they must entirely support themselves. 
After an hour or two of this, we were shut up for the rest of the 
day, till our walk in the afternoon, and then again for the night. 

In my own room, now, was only the Wallach, but in the other 
room, opening into it, there were six prisoners, and in the whole 
prison there must have been nearly a hundred, from various classes 
and Nationahtiea, 

There were Catholic priests, Protestant clergymen, Jewish Rabbis 
among them ; Poles, Italians, Frenchmen, Magyar noblemen, and 
Honveds, and Wallachs, and Croats, and Slavonians — and nearly 
one-half were the much-oppreased Bauer. Yet aU these were hero 
for either sympathizing, or taking an active part in the Revolution 
of '48. 

I was exceedingly struck with the spirit they showed in political 
matters. Of course, where so many were mere soldiere, there were 
many thick-headed and self-opinionated, and rude enough. But 
their noble side was their sympathy with the people, and their real 
devotion to Freedom. When they spoke of that, their thoughts 
were grand, and I make no doubt — though some of them had been 
living there for years — that there was not a man among them who 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 301 

would have bought his freedom on the best estate in Hungary, for a 
betrayal of their cause. 

They all soon underetood how I had come among them, and 
treated me with the greatest friendliness. It seemed to give a new 
touch of bitterness to the feelings of the Hungarian prisoners against 
Austria, that a foreign guest — merely a traveller — should be thus 
treated in their own country. 

Gradually, more and more, I began to sink down into this dull, 
monotonous life. For a part of the day, in such confinement, one 
can occupy himself, without difficulty, in his own thoughts. But 
after this, it becomes inexpressibly wearisome. At first I had em- 
ployed the Wallach, or rather he took it on himself, to do servant's 
duties, giving him in return kreutzers for Wine and " SchnappsP 
But after a while, I was glad to do anything to wear away the 
hours, and I could well understand the accounts I had heard, of 
intellectual men in such places spending days in feeding spiders or 
killing flies. 

No one can imagine what a death-like hfe such a life is ! To-day 
comes and goes like yesterday, and you know to-morrow will only 
be another similar. You spend full half a day on the bed, and the 
happiest moment are in dreams. Every new event is a pleasure. 
a strange gens d''c>rme in the prison, a new prisoner, the arrival of 
the General's carriage in the court, a sight of soldiers exercising, all 
used to give us the greatest delight. Then there was such a com- 
plete separation and cutting off from the whole world. Rumors 
reached us in prison of the Russians occupying Siehenhurgen^ and 
the march of the Austrians and Prussians into France. We shouted 
with joy when we heard it, and talked, and wondered, and the 
Frenchman cried vive la Liberie ! But beyond that, we heard not 
a word, and, for all we knew to the conti'aiy, Europe might be in 



302 A FELLOW PRISONER. 

one full blast of revolution, and we lying there in unconsciousness, in 
that tomb ! How eagerly, too, did we all approach a window in 
the gangway, the only one in the prison, which was not boarded ! 
There were some beautiful fresh vine-hills without, and a glimpse 
of free, green fields. It was hke a breatli of Uberty to come there, 
and breathe the sweet fresh air from the hills. 

I used often to slip by the sentinel, and to go to one window, which 
but few knew of. It commanded a view of the windows of a fellow- 
prisoner, whose fate had deeply interested me. The unfortunate was 
a young lady — a Countess — from one of the first families in Hungary, 
a family long distinguished in its history, the Teleki. She had 
been arrested a short time before I was, on a similar charge, of 
being in correspondence with the Hungarian Emigration, and 
beside with Mazzini. The arrest had made great noise in Hungary, 
and I had often heard of it. How little I had ever thought of 
sharing the same prison with her ! One of her friends supposed we 
were in the same conspiracy, and had told me of this window. I 
made many attempts to communicate with her, hoping to be able 
to assist her, when without ; but somehow, I could never catch her 
eye. She used often to come to the window, to tend the few 
plants she had there, or to gaze longingly out on the distant land- 
scapes. Poor lady ! It seemed to me, she grew paler every day. 
It was very sad ; so young and beautiful — with wonderful accom- 
plishments, and a noble heart — to spend her fresh, young 
years, in that heart-crushing place ! She was confined to 
two small, miserable rooms, allowed no attendance scarcely, and 
with one or two old grammars for books, there she lingered through 
the long days. I saw her besides from our window, in her walk in 
the little, garden with the Provost. This walk and conversation 
with the Provost for an hour, was her only society and amusement 



HUNGARY IN 1851J 303 

through the twenty-four houi-s. I could see from her whole man- 
ner and bearing there, that it was true what was said of her — that 
she was a woman of heroic spirit, not in the least broken by her mis- 
fortune. There was a veiy old woman allowed to attend her in the 
garden sometimes, and one could see that with all her dignity, she 
helped the old servant, much more than the old servant her. 

At fii-st, she used to have a lively, young girl running by her 
side — a maid-servant of extraordinary genius, and accused of being 
engaged in the same plot with hereelf, though only twelve years old ! 
But afterwards, with a truly Austi'ian refinement of cruelty, they 
were separated, and the child was confined by herself in the city. 
The Auditor said of the little girl, after the trial, " It is hoi'rihle ! 
Sie ist verdorhen vom Grund und Boden ! She is contaminated 
from the veiy root and core /" Or, in other words, young as she 
was, she was a thorough Republican, and a downright hater of 
tyranny ! 

I had good information of what was going on, and I learned, that 
the defence of the Countess on her trial was most heroic and 
patriotic. She met the abuse and cunning of tha Auditor, with a 
spirit and dignity which even abashed him. And I know that in 
private, she expressed herself ready to go through with any length 
of imprisonment, if she could only help her unhappy country. 
Whether she was guilty or not, I do not know ; but from my own 
experience of Austrian Courts, I should think it not in the least im- 
probable she was another victim to their infernal system. She often 
inquired after the fate of the American, so strangely arrested in the 
midst of Hungary ; but we never succeeded in changing a word.* 

* I have just received news (Jan., 1852) from Vienna, that she is sen- 
tenced by the Court Martial to twenty years imprisonment — God be with her ! 



CHAPTER XXXYI. 

Prison Life. 

I TRIED repeatedly to obtain a hearing with the Major, in order to 
express my sense of my treatment, and at length, after some time 
succeeded, as it was necessary for me to see him, in order to draw 
my money. 

He asked, what I wished with him 1 

" I wish," said I, to report myself to the Court Martial with re- 
spect to my treatment here,' through this whole case. I beg you to 
remember that the matter is quite as serious a one for you, Sii', as 
for me. You have suddenly, on mei-e suspicion, arrested me, a free 
American citizen, traveUing with a pass, under the protection of your 
Government and my own. You have treated me like a felon. You 
have shut me up with men whom the Austrian Government regards 
as the gi'eatest criminals — some of them even yet under sentence of 
death. You have thrown me into most filthy quarters, where my 
whole body is eaten with fleas " — (and, as I said this, I bared my 
arm before him, all blotched and marked by the insects.) " And 
more than this. Sir, you have held me here for more than two 
weeks, on such slight proof, and on a charge, so unsupported, that I 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 305 

must consider it an attack on me as an American. I know our 
Government and our people. They will never suflfer a free citizen 
to be mistreated, on such grounds. They will hold you responsible, 
Sir, and your Government, for these proceedings !" 

His manner, much to my surprise, was singularly diflferent in his 
reply. The bullying tone of the previous examinations was changed 
for the most soft and winning. He begged me to be assured he 
had not been aware of my treatment in the prison. He himself 
might be convinced of my innocence, but he was obliged to carry 
out the investigation according to the usual forms. He had always 
felt a sincere respect for the Americans — and he hoped I would not 
think he had delayed this investigation. My papers were all in 
English or French, and he had been obliged to send them to Posth 
for translation. He regretted extremely the long delay, &c,, &c. 

I could not understand at the time, this difference of manner. 
The Provost warned me, when we were upstairs, against making- 
such speeches, particularly before him, an inferior officer. " The 
Major is King here !" 

But I thought I knew my man, and I did not believe I had 
spoken too strongly ; besides, who could help it, after such a treat- 
ment. 



Gros Wardein Fortress. — * * * It is a singular contrast, 
one's dreams in such a place and the reality. I was in a New Eng- 
land village last night — at home, and when I woke, the sun-light 
was streaming through the iron grating above the boards. I could 
not think, for a moment, where I was. It is a most strange con- 



306 JOURNAL. 



trast ! — my life before tliis tas been so free, and so full pf rich.- feel- 
ings and thoughts. 



"With the WaJlach I talk many hours in the day — a good fellow, 
though his spirit is all crushed out of him, by misfortune after mis- 
fortune. I try to cheer him and tell him of the good days to come 
when he and the land will be free, and he can be a happy man 
again. He has no hopes, however, and drinks schnapps to cheer 
himself. He does servant's work for me, and I share my dinner 
with him, which I have not the appetite to eat. 

He was a Honved, and, Wallach as he is, loves the Hungarian 
cause right well. It's singular enough, though a common soldier, 
and by no means an intelligent man, he speaks some eiffkt lan- 
guages ! From this mixing together of nations in Hungary, the 
people learn foreign languages very readily. * * * * My quartei-s 
here are detestable, with the dirt and the filth, and the reeking 
smell of that Kiebel everywhere. We spend about half an hour 
eveiy morning picking the fleas out of our blankets ! 

Monday, June 2.-^^! have been here now ten days. One of the 
prisoners had a " diary" marked on the wall. Poor man ! he began 
it last winter. We look at It often, and I wonder to myself whether 
mine will not run on much longer. 



The Austrian policy is very skilful. The General here in 
Gros Wardein, the Judges, the Provost, are all from Bohemia or 
Moravia, and the regiment from the Bukovina — the best regiment 



HUNGARY IN 1851- 307 

it is said, in the Austrian service. They do look like just the men 
for the government — tall, strong, stupid-looking soldiers, who would 
tread down republics or monai'chies with equal indifference, at the 
word of command ! 



June 5. — The vine hills, which we can see from the window in 
the gangway, and the fields on our side of the fortress, look greener 
and more full of foliage every day. We can see that the days are 
very beautiful, and that the pleasantest season is passing while we 
lie here. I stand up on the window-seat and look out at the bright 
landscape and the misty hills in the distance, and wonder when I 
shall enjoy them again, and whether I will remember how beautiful 
they seemed in this gloomy cell. I do long so to be free ; to be 
away fi-om these petty exactions and restrictions of every stupid 
ofl&cer in command. I never began to know how sweet is the breath 
of free air ! 



June 6. — The Frenchman has just been delivering a lecture to 
the others, on Democracy and the rights of men. There are 
eight in the companj'-, and they sit around on their beds, smoking 
and arguing with the major while I write in this room. There is 
Pole and an Italian, and a Jewish Rabbi, and several Hungarians 
among them, all most thorough Democrats. They quarrel in au 
absurd manner occasionally, but when they speak on these subjects, 
their thoughts — crude enough sometimes — would be noble, even 
with us. I shall always respect Eiu'opean Democracy more, from 



30S THE PRISONERS. 

what I have seen of these men. One-sided, and self-opinionated as 
they are on other matters, and even ungoverned morally, it is mani- 
fest, then* best side — their rehgion, if I may call it by such a name — 
connec'ts itself vsdth these great ideas of Freedom and Brotherhood. 

The Frenchman has a volume of pohtical sentiments which he 
has copied off from one of Lamartine's works — poetic, free, generous 
sentiments, which he reads every night before going to bed, as we 
would our Bibles. 

My respect for human nature is increased by what I have seen of 
them all. I see that the spirit of even a vulgar, ignorant man, 
engaged in a great cause, is not easily broken. Their long, dull 
years of confinement, under which they are each breaking in 
health, has not crushed the courage of one. They know there may 
be many years yet ; still freedom now, with wealth, would not buy 
the lowest of them for Austria. " Friend, said one of them to me, 
" we know om* cause ; we may die, but it must conquer^'' 

They are all looking so anxiously to next May — the new election 
in France — which shall bring a freer party into power, and break the 
chains of Europe. " O/i, then to he out with a sabre and a horse /" 
said the old hussar to me, brandishing his j^ipe in the air. Several 
t)f them have been in othei' revolutions in various lands, since the 
devolution of '30 in Paris, fighting and venturing everything to 
spread abroad free principles. " We must believe in a Providence," 
said one, " and pei'haps the defeat of our party here in Hungary and 
all through Europe, is the best thing which can happen for us. It 
will weed out the bad, and better prepare the people for govern- 
ment, when they do gain it. They are knowing now what they 
have lost. They were not ready before in Germany for fi-eedom ! 
The good cause must triumjjh !" 

June 7. — I am settling down into a monotonous piison-life. It's 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 309 

like an iinvaiying sea voyage. I haA^e been here two weeks, and 
one day follows on precisely like another ; I sleep ten hours out of 
the twenty-four, and the dreams are the pleasantest moments. 

How eagerly we catch at anything new! There was a 'great 
arrival lately of persons arrested from Debreczin. A word against 
the government seems to send them right to the prison. To-day, 
Saturday, is the day for the brutal flogging of the soldiers, or such 
of the prisoners as are so punished. Some three hundred march 
out with sticks — form two lines, and the poor fellow who is whipped 
has to walk leisurely through, and take the strokes on his bare back. 
Four times through, they say, is death usually. There is one room 
here, crowded fall of Honveds, who have been forced into the Aus- 
trian armies, and who are always deserting. They are punished so 
with the " Renngasse^'' (Street run) as they call it. It is of no use, 
however ; they are evidently a most indomitable set of men, and 
will desert again at the first opportunity. 

I have not been more interested in any set of men in the prison 
than the Bauer, of whom there have been some twenty or nfore 
here confined. Tall, fine-looking men, who walk around folded in 
their great sheep-skins, like old Romans in their togas. They have 
the shrewd, keen look which characterizes all the Hungarian pea- 
sants ; though the flashing of their eyes when they speak of Austnan 
tyranny, show what they would do, if once out. They are men 
made for soldiers. 

They are all here for speaking against the Government, or for 
hiding a weapon, or for uttering their opinions of Kossuth. I have 
talked with them often, though generally through an interpreter, as 
they do not speak German. 

" Why doesn't he speak Hungaiian better ?" said one of them 
about me, " He holds to the Hungarian Religion !" 



310 PEASANTS IN PRISON. 

He meant by this that I belonged to the Reformed Chui'ch of the 
Protestants, which the majority of the Magyars are connected with, 
and which the -Sawer always call " the Hungarian Church." 

One of them told me, that we Americans must free Kossuth and 
bring him over ; " We are only waiting for him — there are arms 
enough hidden — I have twenty-five muskets bmied on my farm — 
and my neighbors in the same way !" 

I asked another whether he was not sorry he had engaged in the 
Revolution , to get only this for reward ? 

" No," he said ; and with that passionate, eloquent tone, which 
belongs to the whole nation, he burst out, " No ! why should I 
complain ! "We shall conquer later, if not now ! Why should T 
complain of this prison, when the firet and best of the land have 
lost everything for Hungary ? The Magyar God must help us !" 

Last night the Bauer were all moved into the next room, and we 
packed together in this ; and in these hot nights it becomes intoler- 
able to sleep in such a crowd. However, I did not care very much, 
and gave them candles, and something better to eat and drink than 
the prison fare, and we sat up long, hearing their wild Hungarian 
songs, and watching their games. 



I had at this time, more opportunity for investigating what our 
prison was. 

The prison-rooms, in general appearance, were like those of most 
of the old feudal castles one sees in Europe — reserved for State 
prisoners. Moderately large, with heavy arches meeting in the 
centre and faintly lighted by the chink in the window, over the 
boarding. They were beside somewhat damp, very dhty, and over- 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 311 

run with fleas. The old Castle had been a massive structure in the 
middle ages. It was built around the four sides of a square, the 
space within being used as a court. On the outside was once a 
heavy wall with fosse, and various watch-towere, and beyond these, 
other works. But since, at least, the days of modern science in 
artillery, Gros Wardein and the Fortress have never been of any 
importance in a military respect. 

The old wall is all crumbling and falling into the fosse; the 
arches under the towei-s are in many places broken down, and the 
vines growing over the ruins. Under a part of the outer works 
wine and beer shops are now built, and as a whole, one may say, the 
old Fortress has pretty nearly lost its original character. In the 
Revolution the Hungarian ministry chose, with very good judgment, 
Gros Wardein as the central manufacturing depot, and this castle 
was turned into a gun manufactory. Now it is used by the Aus- 
trians as a great barracks for the soldiers, and a state prison for polit- 
ical offenders. 



About this period, perhaps in consequence of the last convei-sa- 
tion I had held with the Auditor, I was put in rather better quar- 
ter, though still bad enough. My new comrades, however, were " 
much pleasanter, and I became exceedingly interested in them. 

One was a Protestant clergyman from the neighborhood. There 
was something so manly and kind in his appearance, that T was 
attracted at once toward him, and we soon became good friends. 
We lived in a menage^ and he, as the oldest member, took on him- 
self the cooking, which he really managed very skillfully. 

He had been a prominent man among the cl&rgy — an eloquent 



312 A CLEHGYMAN. 

preacher, and a " Senior " presiding over some twenty churches, and 
was besides a person of remarkable natural dignity, so that there 
was something unspeakably affecting in his attentions and kindness 
to us, in the little matters of house-keeping. He was falling away 
by piece-meal, from the long, dull confinement. The scurvy had 
loosened his teeth, and was injuring his eyes, and he wore in conse- 
quence a huge green shade. Yet one could see that the look of 
patient resignation never left his face — no sentimental resignation, 
but the calm trust of a man who had sacrificed all for duty's sake, 
and who was now ready to suffer. 

Like all the Hungarians, he loved his countiy with a love which 
we cannot even imagine ; yet I make no doubt he spoke the truth, 
when he said. " He would not, if he could, be freed to live in Hun- 
gary again. He never could preach there again. He could not 
live in a land where he was a slave ! If he should be freed, he 
would go over to America and be a gai'dener or a peasant. He 
had always loved so working in the garden. Somehow, he thought 
he should be happy and healthy at once, if he could only work in 
the grovrnd again. But there were no hopes !" 

It appears, hke the clergymen in our Revolution, he had preached 
and aroused the people much to resisting the Austrian government ; 
and at length, when the time came that words were of no moi'e use, 
he had proved his sincerity by joining the ranks as a common sol- 
dier, where he had marched as standard bearer. This was enough ; 
and after a short trial by the Austrians, he was sentenced to the 
gallows ; but somehow, the sentence had not been executed ; and 
the probabihty was now, it would be commuted to imprisonment for 
life. 

The Auditor here pronounced him " the greatest criminal" who 
had ever appeared before him, " an inco.rnate Democrat P though 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 313 

he had not said a word to defend or excuse himself. With us he 
would pass for a very moderate, rational Republican, with a deep 
love for freedom, but not especially ultra on any subject. 

There was nothing, to me, in the whole prison so touching, as the 
bearing of this man ; so gentle and self-sacrificing towards us all, 
and patient, yet at the same time so manly and firm ! There was 
a rich wit, too, in him, which we used to draw out in his happier 
moments. 

He had been allowed no books, but had passed much of his time 
in carving with his pen-knife, in which he was wonderfully skilful. 
He gave me a beautiful wooden /or A:, a perfect imitation of a French 
table-fork, which he had made in this way. 

During this time, my examination was continued at intervals. 
Tt is difficult to convey the Inqiiisition-Wke tone of them all — the 
petty tricks, the attempts to entangle, the means used to force a 
confession. For instance, one morning as I entered the court-room, 
the Auditor turned over my papei's in a careless way, and asked, 
half unconsciously, " Where-is-that-letter from ZTjhazy ?" I rose 
U}) in indignation at such a mean device : " Sir, you know that I 
have told you again and again, I have no acquaintance with 
Ujhazy !" " Oh, I beg your pardon, I mean that letter from 
CzetzP 

Another time, he informed me that he had testimony from one 
of the family of the B.'s in Nagy Maria, that I had visited Mr. E. 
B., the distinguished Revolutionist in London. It will be remem- 
bered, this was the gentleman to whom I had a card of introduction 
fi-om his brother. 

" We have this evidence," said he, " confess your connection with 
that notorious rebel !" " Show me the evidence," said I. " I do 
not believe at all you have any such testimony. This family is 
14 



314 TRICKS. 

known as one of the most honorable families in Hungary, and they 
could not give such evidence. It would be no crime if I had known 
the whole Hungarian Emigration, but Mr. B. I have never even 
seen." 

On the next day, when the evidence came up, it appeared it was 
" a mistake in his translation of the Hungarian words^'' 

A large packet of letters of introduction which I had, was care- 
fully examined for some expressions which could be possibly turned 
against me. Among them all, not a single dangerous expression 
was found, except in a letter from the Countess B., in Pesth, to a 
lady in Groswardein, wherein I was spoken of as a " zuverldssiger 
Mensch" " a reliable manP 

I laughed at once, as the Auditor commenced his declamation 
over this, for it brought up, even then, irresistibly to my mind, the 
eloquent efforts of Sergeant R. over Pickwick's dinner-order to his 
landlady, in the celebrated case of " Bardwell vs. Pickwick." 

" Sir ! There is no occasion for laughter here ! These are im- 
portant words. They imply that you and the Countess B. have an 
undei-standing on some matter which others do not know of. A 
plot, perhaps. Explain, Sir." 

He looked over to the Count. 

" Very serious words in your circumstances. Sir," echoed that 
gentleman. 

I replied that the Countess was an old lady knowing the world, 
and the expression would be natural for hei', in introducing a stran- 
ger : I hoped she was right. I could not explain it in any other 
way. 

It appeared that they had been examining all my acquaintances 
in Hungary, Vienna, and even as far as Prague, and all the proof 
thus far obtained, arranged itself thus : 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 315 

1. A note of introduction from a prominent Hungarian emi- 
grant. 

2. A card of introduction to another Hungarian emigrant in 
England. 

3. The fact that certain pereons had been called upon who were 
compromised in the Revolution of 1848. 

4. The possession of a pamphlet and History, advocating the Hun- 
garian side. 

6. Words implying an acquaintance with Ujhazy ! 

In the last sessions, the Auditor had his accusation rather bet- 
ter arranged, and I will give it, as nearly as possible, in his own 
words : 

" We know," said he, " that the emigrants from Hungary, in 
America, keep up a constant communication with the Democratic 
Societies in Europe. We know, furthermore, that one great object 
of these Societies is to preserve an uninterrupted intercourse with 
the members of the disaffected party in Hungary, and thus finally 
work out the overthrow of the existing Government, and all law and 
order. You are known to be from America ; you are heard to speak 
as if you were acquainted with the Hungarian emigrants ; you have 
been travelling through the principal countries of Europe, and you 
bring a letter of introduction from a member of the Hungarian 
Emigration in Europe, and visit here men belonging to the disaf- 
fected party. You are found with a card of introduction to a dis- 
tinguished leader of this party in England, and with certain forbid- 
den works, implying a sympathy in your mode of thought with the 
men who are aiming at the min of order and government. There- 
fore, we charge you with being an emissary of this party, and here 
in Hungary with the design of spreading revolutionary movements. 
You are exhorted by the Court to confession." 



316 THE DEFENCE. . 

" Sir," said I, " the premises may be true, possibly, or not ; for I 
must confess, I know very little of the operations of the Democratic 
Societies ; but I cannot see their connection with the conclusion. It's 
a very long step from one to the other. There is a very wide differ- 
ence, I beg you to observe, between a traveller, with certain political 
views, and an emissary endeavoring to spread them, and to over- 
throw the existing Government. You seem to have forgotten this 
in the accusation. And, furthermore, I would say, that, admitting 
all the facts you state, they do not even j^rove my political opinions ; 
and that they might equally hold against every English or Ameri- 
can traveller, as against me. Remember, Sir, that the Hungarian 
emigrants are scattered far and wide over every land. What more 
natural for a traveller, intending to enter the country, than to take 
at least one letter of introduction fi-om them ? Then, when here, 
you must admit, one of the most interesting topics to a Hungarian 
of any party, would be the condition of their countrymen in their 
new homes ; and a traveller would most naturally speak of it. 

That he should visit some of the compromised party, too, would 
be nearly inevitable, where such a large majority were of that party. 
And that he should take a card, or even a letter, to their friends 
again in exile, could not be considered even remarkable, much less 
suspicious. The whole of these suspicious circumstances are such 
as might hold against almost every ti-aveller. And when I remem- 
ber the exceedingly strict treatment I have received on such grounds, 
and the frivolous nature of these proofs, I must consider the whole 
matter, either as very much over-hurried, or that there are some 
other hidden grounds of procedure." 

He disclaimed any other motives than those apparent in the case ; 
and brought me back to " the forbidden books." From the pam- 
phlet, " Hungaiy's Good Right," he read certain passages with 'great 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 317 

indignation, wherein the House of Hapsburg was rather sharply- 
assailed ; and then commented with equal vehemence over the 
2)ortraits of Kossuth and Batthyanyi, in the History of the War. 

I smiled at his storming so over the matter, and assured him thai. 
such sentiments did not look at all so terrible to a stranger as to a 
supporter of the Government. " In no country," said I, " is the hold- 
ing forbidden political books, considered a crime in a stranger. The 
books, if found on him, are liable perhaps to confiscation — ^but be- 
yond this, he is not held guilty. How can he know what are forbid- 
den, and what not ? This History by Dr. Schiitte, for instance, was 
recommended to me by the Royal Library in Berhn, as an impartial, 
able work. You will see that half is mere statistics. It appears the 
Police has decided this is a dangerous book. How can the traveller 
know? 

" And as for the portraits, they show nothing in a foreigner — for 
they are no rarities ; you can get them for a threepence in every 
country of Europe." 

He fell back, then on their showing, at least, to which side my 
sympathies inclined. I doubted whether necessarily they would 
show that ; but did not press the matter. After this, even in these 
last sessions, we had still a long argument as to my words with 
regard to Ujhazy, whether they indicated acquaintance with him, 
or not. 

The same ground, too, was gone over again, as in the first exam- 
ination, as to my intimacy with Czetz. 

" Why did you seek out the society of that arch-rebel, Czetz, as 
soon as you entered Germany ?" 

" I did not — I met him accidentally at a dinner-party in Ham- 
bui-g." 



318 AN INTERLUDE. 

' How many were present 2" 

" I do not remember." 

" What was your conversation with him ?" 

" On the growing of Tokay wine, and the chances for an emigrant 
in America." 

" Why did he give you a letter to Mr. L in Pesth ?" 

" Because Mr. L was an intimate friend of his, and could 

show me something of Hungarian hfe — besides he said the gentle- 
man was a government-officer." 

" Why did you not deliver it ?" 

" I had no time, while in Pesth." 

" Why is this other card of Czetz in your portfolio, with another 
note to Mr. L , in pencil V 

Here the exei'cises were somewhat interrupted by the court's 

giving some order to one of the soldiers in German, which he did not 
underetand — whereupon, the Count rose up and rebuked a heavy- 
looking Lieutenant, who always sat at the other end, that " any of 
the Imperial Soldiers in Hungaiy should be ignorant of German I" 
There was a little farther disagreement apparently between the clerk 
(a Hungarian) and the Auditor, about the correct writing of some- 
thing I had said — and at length, the clerk threw down his pen in a 
passion, and slammed himself out of the room. 

All which was quite fortunate for me, as it gave me an oppoi"- 
tunity, for recalling how that other note of Czetz happened among 
my paper's. 

" M. Czetz, wrote one note in pencil, and I suggested it might ge. 
rubbed out, and he then wrote another. The bit of paper was kept, 
because it had historical references on the other side." 

With such questionings, the examination ended. 

From the extraordinary sympathy in the town and among all the 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 319 

Hungarians for my case, I obtained veiy good information of all 
their measures. I knew that they were alarmed at certain proceed- 
ings (I supposed, of Mr. McCurdy) in Vienna, and that their great 
object was to fix something upon me, so that they could still hold 
me. There was a report, for a time among the prisoners, that they 
would use violence, in order to get rid of my troublesome testimony 
afterwards. I never credited it, however. I knew that the murder of 
an American citizen, under such circumstances, would be the signal 
of a storm, which would scatter this hoary old monarchy of oppres- 
sion to the winds. And they must be clear-sighted enough to see 
it. 

•It was singular, that I found friends almost in the very court itself. 
I knew that testimony had come in from every side favorable to me, 
and that at this time, the Judge had, in his own hands, important 
letters for me. Still, everything yet looked uncertain, as to the re- 
sult. I was informed, beside, that wine, fruits, linen, and various 
articles, were constantly sent to me, from the town's-people, and were 
always refused entrance. 

My comrades told me, the rules about this had become much 
stricter, since an occurrence a year ago. A search happened to be 
made through the prison for something, and a quantity of letters 
were found in the prisoners' hands, from their friends. The servants 
were all examined and flogged, and it appeared that the letters had 
been sent in, in meat-pies and puddings, from the city. 



CHAPTER XXXYH. 



PRISON LIFE AND THE TRIAL. 



I HAD been in my new quarters but a short time, when a new 
comrade was given to our party, in the person of a Magyar noble- 
man from the neighborhood — a tall, fine-looking man, with the 
immense moustache of the genuine Magyar. He proved a very 
agreeable addition to our mess, and we had a great many pleasant 
conversations together. The charge against him was, that he had 
spoken against persons in authority, i. e., he was in a "wine- 

house, and said that " all the office-holders were a set of • 

rascals, and they deserved hanging !" For this, he would probably 
be there in prison for thi'ee months, and. then be drafted into the 
Austrian army as a common soldier for a year ! There are not a 
few of the best blood of Hungary now in the ranks as privates. 
The great consolation is, that they are probably corrupting the whole 
army. 



Gros Wardkin Fortress, June 17, — I find it all much plea- 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 321 

santer here than in the old quarters — it was impossible to sleep 
there, what with the fleas and the noise. 

S. (the Magyar) found an old friend at once in Nagy (the 
preacher) and to me he said immediately, " We shall soon be 
friends ; this must be the place to make acquaintances fast !" He 
says there is a great deal of talk about my arrest, and that the 
Hungarians are very indignant. 

I am surprised how coolly he takes his arrest, though he is an 
old soldier, and more used to such things. However, his blue days 
will come. He has brought a good stock of Hungarians segare, 
which is a great blessing to the others, as they will not smoke the 
" Imperial Austrian^'' though they are a httle cheaper. 

Rich as he is, he tells me he has fully decided to go to America, 
if he can only " sell out." His plan is, to make a company with 
his family and friends, and with peasants who will stipulate to work 
with them for a certain number of years and then all to go directly 
to our Western States, and form a small colony — doing for a time all 
the handwork among themselves. He htis been learning working 
in leather, with this plan, and his brother a carpenter's trade. He 
cannot live, he says, in a land where he is not free. He loves 
Hungary with a most enthusiastic love, I can see ; but he wUl leave 
it gladly, if it is to remain so under Austrian tyranny. 

* % % Hi Ht * 

The Provost tells me, in the Order of the gens d'arme, I was 
described as " a highly dangerous political offender," and he should 
have put me in irons, if it had not been from motives of humanity. 
He left the two comrades, to keep me from suicide, and even took 
away all the knives and forks for the same reason. 

June 18. — A new comrade has come to our party, a small, gen- 
tlemanly-looking, dai'k-faced man, a lawyer from Croatia. He is 
14* 



322 THE CROAT. 

very gloomy, and walks the floor to and fro in silence, occasionally 
bursting out with a sigh, and Oh Isten ! (God !) He says but 
little of his case, except to claim occasionally, that he had no part 
in these revolutionaiy matters, which seems probable. Suspicion ! 
Suspicion! that is the principle and the life of the Austrian 
system ! 

We try to make him forget his troubles, and he seems very glai 
to talk with me. For despite the little sympathy he expresses for 
the Revolution, it is very evident he is a thorough democrat. 
* * * * * *- 

One of our party has quite a number of Webster's Letters on 
Hungarian affaii-s with him, which he reads occasionally with much, 
spu'it, to the others. 



I was much interested in my new company, to notice the diflfer- 
ence of character between this Croat and the Hungarians. I could 
well understand the utter disunion, or antipathy, which once existed 
between the two races. The Croat was a lawyer, an exceedingly 
well-educated, shrewd, supple man, but he could not get along at all 
with the Hungarians. The two did not fit together anywhere. 
They were so open, manly, downright ; he so reserved, keen, 
cautious. It was only the good sense of all parties which prevented 
an open war between them. 

The Croat had taken, probably, no active part in the Revolution, 
and now, while under accusation, was entirely " non-committal'''' on 
political matters. But, in his conversations with me, I could see he 
was as fully opposed to Austrian oppression as the others were, 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 323 

though, his resistance would be to flee the country. We used often 
together to assail the old Hungarian, Feudal Constitution, and the 
others would defend it. On the whol^, my company in my new 
quarters was very pleasant, and we became quite attached to one 
another. 

About this time came my last trial, and at the close they asked 
me if I had anything to say. 

The remarks which I here made undoubtedly injured me more 
than anything else in the trial. Still they were not made without 
consideration. 

Thus far, I had answered their accusations point by point, not 
going into anything irrelevant, and avoiding carefully all personah- 
ties, so that their case might stand as bad as possible before the 
world. But through it all, without our directly saying anything 
about it, there was imderlying always a reference to the two differ- 
ent principles of government. 

They had caught a Republican in the midst of Hungary. They 
suspect him of trying to diffuse Repubhcan sentiments — though 
they accuse him of offences against their laws. He defends himself 
on their own grounds, and shows his innocence. This, legally, was 
enough. But I could not think it worthy of a man, or of the 
great principles which I, as one individual of our Nation might 
represent, to leave the case so. I was here, indeed, alone, and in 
their power, but I could not slip out, without oiie word before this 
dark and secret Tribunal, for that Cause which they had so con- 
stantly sneered at, in this trial, and which is to me, if I know myself, 
more than hfe. 

" Sir," said I, " the question thus far, in this trial, has not been 
what my personal political feehngs are, but what these writings, 



324 "CONFESSION OF FAITH." 

found upon me, prove. On this ground, I have answered and 
defended myself. But I cannot let this trial be terminated without 
declaring before this Court, what my political sentiments are. / am 
from heart and soul^ a Republican — an American — and I have 
been in no land in which I have not been proud of those names ! 
We have seen in our country the wonderful I'esults of Self-govern- 
ment, and I would here, as everywhere, confess myself most heartily 
and fully to that principle. At the same time, I wish you to 
)-emember our coimtrymen never feel themselves compelled to swear 
to a Revolution because it is a Revolution. They must know first 
that it seeks for Right and Justice and true equaUty. Although 
holding these Repubhcan views, it is due to myself to say that 
never, since I have been in Austria, have I expressed them in 
public, and not often in private. My object has been more to 
investigate than to agitate. I have wished, too, as much as pos- 
sible, to see Austria on its best side. In Vienna, I have studied the 
Austrian Art, which shows certainly, at present, remarkable genius, 
I have investigated the Austrian improvements in Education, of 
which even our countrymen will hear with pleasui-e. 

"On entering Hungary, one of many objects with me, was to 
investigate the character of that movement in 1848, the news of 
which had reached even our distant country. I do not deny that, 
in common with the majority of my countrymen, I had once a sym- 
pathy for the Hungarian party — the sympathy which the Americans 
always have for the movements of the people. But it has been 
difficult to obtain good reports. We have heard many different 
accounts — facts, which would show that no real equality or justice 
was aimed at in this struggle. And I can say, that when I entered 
Hungary, I was almost completely unbiassed in the matter. To 
.obtain information on this, as well as to examine the old political 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 32r 

institutions of the country, among the most original and peculiar in 
in Europe, was one of my great objects. With this in view, I 
have studied the old Constitution, the present and past laws, the 
institutions as well as the general character and habits of the 
Nation. 

" My actions have been open and public — never in any degree 
like those of a conspirator or emissary. I have visited many public 
men of diflFerent parties, and have been in public places often. Yet, 
with all this, while observing every law of your country, I have 
been arrested, and — " 

" Altogether superfluous, Sir ! Altogether irrevelant !" interrupted 
the Auditor, with a disturbed shrug of his shoulders — and rising 
indignantly^ — " You have said quite enough, Sir ! "We see what 
you are !" looking over to the President, " Strange that he should 
have ever been admitted into the country !'° 

" Very strange !" said the President, frowning angrily. 

Then came some sharp questioning as to my expressions of Ee- 
publicanism and previous sympathy with the Hungarian Party. 
They could not succeed, however, in changing them into anything 
worse — and with this, the trial ended. 

The four comrades in my room, as soon as we had had, according 
to custom, a conference over the proceedings of the last session, 
congratulated me at once, on ray prospect of enjoying their society 
some months longer yet, and I myself concluded I had lengthened 
very considerably my term. However, T had nothing to regret, and 
I sat myself down to bear the worst. 

In the evening, my Austrian friend came in, " Ah, Carlos ! 
Carlos /" said he, " we hear you were not wise — You have hurt 
your own case ; they have sent on this speech at once to Vienna — 
You will suffer for it." 



^526 GOOD NEWS! 

At length, after some three weeks of this, I was summoned one 
day, before the Court, and the Auditor met me, with his most con- 
ciliating manner, and said, " I have good news for you !" handing 
me a letter from Mr. Mc Curdy ! I was obliged to break the seal 
before the Court, and» allow them to read it first. But as it was 
English, and the President only knew a few words, they at length 
permitted me to read it aloud in German, before the Court, which I 
did with great gusto ! 

If any one of my readers will imagine himself shut up for weeks 
in a remote foreign prison, not knowing, all the while, whether he 
was to be imprisoned for life, or to be summarily shot by a " drum- 
head court-martial," treated throughout like a worthless criminal, then 
ifhewiU suppose himself suddenly receiving a letter from the Repre- 
sentative of a mighty Nation, the only man who possibly could help 
him — a letter at once friendly, and bold, and manly — he will get 
some faint idea of my feelings, as I read Mr. McCurdy's letter to the 
Court on this occasion. I felt safe again. I felt that the represen- 
tative of twenty-five millions of men was speaking for me, and in a 
way which must be heard. 

The letter had been detained some ten days after the time in 
which it ought to have reached me. It began Avith an account of 
his proceedings in my behalf. As soon as he had heard of the 
event, he apphed directly, by letter, to Prince Schwarzenberg, and 
then personally enforced his demand for my immediate release. He 
had received favorable assurances, and should not intermit a moment 
his efforts, &c. Then followed this passage, which it was a great 
satisfaction to read to the man who had treated me as an impostor, 
and buUied me so long ; " As I am perfectly convinced you can have 
been guilty of no offence, and as the Austrian Government can 
have no motive or inclination to create a hostile feeling on the part 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 327 

of ours^ I expect your immediate release." And then, after some 
further friendly words, the closing passage : " Every motive — friend- 
ship for you, respect for your family, a regard for the rights and 
honor of our country, impel me to spare no efforts in your be- 
half." 

The Auditor looked positively uncomfortable as I read out that last, 
with all proper emphasis. It had begun to enter his head that 
shutting up an American citizen for a month in an Austrian dungeon, 
on suspicion, might not be considered at all as a trifling matter by 
the American people. 

"When I came up-stairs again, a crowd of the prisoners gathered 
eagerly around me, and I read the letter in full to them. They could 
not resti'ain their delight, and at the close, there was an enthusi 
astic Eljen McCurdy ! which made the old walls ring again. 

Beside this letter, there had been another, written me by our 
Consul, Mr. Schwarz, from Vienna. This ought to have reached 
me long before ; but, according to this \'illanous Austrian system, all 
letters sent through the Post Office to my name were opened. The 
mode of the operation, as I learned in private, is this. ^ When the 
Government suspect a man, his name is sent to the officer who has 
charge of the sorting the letters, and a letter to his address is at 
once handed over to the police. There is a perfect system in the 
rascahty. No Post Office clerk has the right to open as he will ; 
the order must come fi'om the police. My letter had been sent up 
to the Commissary of Police in Pesth, and he had written on it, 
'■'•Nothing dangerous T and it was forwarded to Gros Wardein. 
There, the Auditor had read it, and thought it was " dangerous," 
until after Mr. McCm-dy's letter came ; after that, he concluded to 
hand it over to me. I should never have received, probably, Mr. 



S28 VISITS. 

McC'urdy's, if lie had not had the personal promise of Bockh him- 
self, the Minister of the Interior, that it should reach me. 

Such is one slight specimen of Austrian pohce rule. 

My knowledge, at this time, of their whole operations, would have 
surprised them enough. 

After this, I found myself better treated. The Auditor came and 
inquired after my condition ; and sent a dapper little doctor to inves- 
tigate the state of the prison, as affecting the health of us prison- 
ers ; which gave an excellent opportunity for our Frenchman to utter 
a most violent tirade, he had been sa^•iDg up for some time, against 
the* general filthiness of the Castle — and to praise the superior con- 
veniences of the other state prisons in Hungary, with which he was 
abundantly familiar. The General too — a very polite and near- 
sighted old gentleman — called on me, and spoke English with me, 
and called me, " my deai'," and promised me books — which never 
came. 



June 19. — We see the Countess occasionally in the garden, by 
standing up on our window-seat and looking over the boards. 

One can see from her manner and gait, that her spirit is not the 
least broken. 

The Provost himself, though a not especially sensitive nature to 
such things, is most impressed with her heroism and patriotic feel- 
ing. He says among all the many and titled prisoners he has had, 
he has never known any one with such real nobility. The I'eport in 
prison is, that she had letters in c}^her from Mazzini, but that she 
always translated them in the same way — as letters with a declara- 
tion of love ! She had travelled much, and the Austrians probably 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 329 

suspect her of having met the Revohitionists in foreign lands. Her 
family is one of the most influential in Hungary, and they are work- 
ing now for her at Court. 



To-day is my birth-day — how little had I ever expected it would 
be spent m an Austrian .prison, will my next be here or am I soon 
to be free ? My hopes are very much greater since receiving Mr. 
McCm-dy's spirited letter. He has taken up the matter, evidently 
like a man. Some of the officials fear it will be a casus belli, unless 
some good ground can be shown. 



I gave a dinner to my comrades as it was my birth-day, and 
invited in Major L., the Frenchmen. All went on very socially and 
in a friendly way for a while, until unfortunately one of the party 
made some depreciating remarks on the French Republic. Then 
commenced a fearful strife, the Frenchman maintaining that Bona- 
parte was one of the truest democrats, and that he offered liberty 
to Hungary, and that France was leading now, as she always had, 
the nations to freedom ! The Hungarians doubted Bonaparte — con- 
sidered the French Republic a humbug — and questioned whether 
France was in any way ready for liberty ! 

They all became very much excited and if the Provost had not 
happily come in, I hardly know how it would have ended. 



330 A PRIEST. 

One of our party, the landholder from Siebenburgen, swears ter- 
ribly at the Austrian injustice toward me — and I certainly think no 
language in the world has the capabihties for fearful cursing which 
the Hungarian has. There is one oath, used by almost every sol- 
dier I have met in Hungary, one of the most blasphemous and sin- 
gular which the mind can imagine — I doubt whether any other 
language ever possessed a similar. * * * (The Slavonic lan- 
guages all have a similar curse, and its origin can be philosophically 
explained. It is not to be written.) 

June 21. — The day on which the General distinctly, promised 
my release. But nothing comes. 

There is a di'oll Catholic priest in one of the other rooms, sen- 
tenced here for exciting his Majesty's soldiers to revolt. He speaks 
Latin with the Croat, and always calls him " Vesfra magnificentia /" 
He is in fetters, and is yet in considerable danger of being hung. 
His defence on his trial, was characteristic enough. " Gracious 
Sire !" said he, " aU that your honors have said about the Demo- 
cratic committees and the societies for the overthrow of law and 
order, and the pass-words and the countersigns may be true ; your 
honore know best, but it is altogether new to me ! I hear about it 
for the first time. Still, your honors, I had always supposed that the 
men sent out by these grand societies had money. But now, yom- 
honors, all I have in the world is this Gulden Schein (18| cents,) 
and five pfennings !' Then, your honore, though I do not know any- 
thing about such matters, still I have always heard they chose pru- 
dent, careful men for emissaries, but now you know I drinh ! I 
never could keep a secret ! I am only a dolt {Lump,) as your 
honoi-s can see !" The whole court laughed right out at this, and 
he probably saved his head by the speech. 

The Hungarians have learned cunning in their misfortunes. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 331 

N , says, that whenever, now, they are allowed to meet then- 

friends in the presence of the Court, they manage to convey a great 
deal of information to them, by talking directly to the Major — for 
the moment they commence any conversation of importance, the 
Major says, ^^Aus ist die Conferenz /" (The meeting is up !) How- 
ever, it is not often they have the privilege of meeting any one, even 
in this way. 

June 22. — We have frequent discussions now together onpohtical 
mattei-s, and one must confess that the Hungarians do argue with 
great readiness and keenness on legal and pohtical subjects. They 
have evidently had a good pohtical education. The Croat and my- 
self have been attacking the old Hungarian Constitution, and the 
others defending it. I find that C, the gentleman from the neigh- 
bom'hood, was a member of the Parliament or Diet of '48 which did 
away with the feudal service of the peasants ; and in the party which 
in the Diet of '32 commenced this reform. He says the measure 
has cost him two-fifths of his income I * * * * 

There was another person sent in to-day by the authorities, to the 
prison, arrested because he had spoken in a wine-room, before others 
of Kossuth's return. He is in fetters. There appeai-s to be a spy 
in almost every drinking-shop of the town. 

(End of Journal).* 

Thirty days of this dull life had passed, when one afternoon, the 
Provost came again to summon me before the Court — this time, 
however, without a soldier. I understood it at once, though I said 
nothing, and as we walked over the same old corridore which I had 
travei-sed so often with such various feelings, I gave a side-look of 

* This Journal I succeeded in carrying away with me in the lining of my 
boots and portmanteau. 



332 THE LAST "SESSION." 

inquiry to him. He nodded his head cheerily, as much as to say, 
" It is our last walk." 

The Count and the Auditor rose and bowed as I entered. 

I bowed in return. 

" We are happy at length to announce your freedom, Sir !" 

All my money and articles were restored to me ; my books and 
papei's sent on to Pesth, and I informed that " This unfortunate 
mistake could at length be righted," and I was to go directly to 
Pesth. But, as I had no passport, (it had been sent on by them 
with the papers), it would be best for me to go in company with a 
gentleman they could recommend ! He would take charge of all 
the arrangements, and I would have no further difficulties, as, under 
the circumstances, a further jom-ney on my part was hardly advis- 
able. I had become use to their polite, diplomatic, mode of lying, 
by this time, and I required to know, in plain language, how it was 1 
" Am I free, or do I travel off under arrest f " Oh no, Sii", under 
no arrest ! You have merely the escort of this gentleman to Pesth, 
who will carry you directly to the Commissary of Police, and there 
you will leai'n what fuiiher is to result in your case !" In the mean- 
time I was to go to the apartments of the Prceses, Count Daun, 
and wait for the vehicle, which would be ready in a few houi-s. 

I went back to the room, in order to have my last moments, if 
possible, with the prisonei-s, and not with any from this detested 
Court. We di-ank coffee together for the last time. They took my 
address in America, and I their names, which I put in the hning of 
my hat. We promised a re-union in a freer land. " Tell our 
countrymen," said one, " wherever you meet them, in your Father- 
land or in Europe, that we are waiting for them ! They are the 
happy ones ! They are free ! We, in the prisons, or anywhere in 
this land, ai'e the slaves ! But tell them never to forget their coun- 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 333 

tiy !" Then, with a regret, which I, for my part, had never 
expected to feel at leaving a Hungarian prison, we all embraced 
each other. 

The clergyman, though a man not much accustomed to express 
his feelings, threw his arms around my neck, and kissed me re- 
peatedly, his firm face working in uncontrollable emotion. Poor 
man ! I know how he felt. It was like a glimpse for a moment 
of the free land, which he had dreamed of, for Hungary and him- 
self, and then all to be darkness again. 



It cannot be imagined what a strange feeling came over me, as 
I stepped out in the sunlight again, like any other free man ! As 
I walked with the Provost over to the Count's apartments, I could 
not help turning, every now and then, to hear the " Einrucken /" 
" March in P of the officer on guard, as if I had gone too far ! I 
saw, for the first time, myself, how faint had been my hopes of free- 
dom. The Count and the Auditor were full of the smoothest 
pohteness. They led me out into the garden, told me of the old 
history of the fortress, cracked funny jokes, and brought out their 
best stories. I was not rude, but I could not laugh with them ; 
the men who had bullied when I was without friends, and who 
flattered, now that I had them. I thought, too, of the lonely and 
heavy-hearted who were up there, behind the iron bars yonder, left 
there by their injustice, and I had not the heart to join in their 
jokes. 

The Count very politely ofiered me wine, but I did not drink ; 
and as the Auditor went away, and wished me " good bye." I 
avoided taking his hand. 



334 THE "GOOD BYE." 

WMle I was waiting for the carriage, I went out to look at the 
court-yard for the last time, where I had walked so often between 
the sentinels. As I stood in the balcony, the Countess came by 
from her walk with the Provost. I tried to catch her eye, to wave 
" Good bye," but she did not see me ; I just exchanged a grateful 
glance with the Austrian friend who had given me such good infor- 
mation, even at the risk of his own head, when the carriage drove 
up. The " gentleman," with whom I was to travel, was at once 
introduced to me, and I saw directly, despite the smart black coat 
and the brown summer hat — what I had expected — that he was a 
military officer. I said nothing, however. 

The General shook hands with me, and told me " to write to 
him when I reached Vienna !" I thanked him for his politeness, 
and took off my hat to the others, the soldiers waved their caps, 
and off we started, on the edge of a June evening, from the old 
fortress — which had given me so many a weary horn- — toward 
" Freedom and Home I" 



CHAPTEK XXXYIII. 

Freedom Again ! 

Or all the feelings of my life — if I live a hundi'ed years — ^T shall 
never forget that exhilaration of delight, as I rode out for the first 
time into the mild, soft air of that beautiful June night. The 
breath of free au' again, the sight of stars and clouds, the rapid 
movement, the new hopes and the memory of past Suffering, the 
stern looking forward to Justice on Wrong, the thankfulness infinite 
for my dehverance, all worked upon my mind so, that I was in a 
fever of excitement. It was like a new life. It seemed to me I 
could swim in that delicious atmosphere. In their zeal to please 
me, they had let me travel as I pleased, and I told my companions 
to di'ive on all night ; I had no desire to sleep or rest. Thoughts 
and feehngs pressed through my breast, as I have never even 
imagined before. Still, I thought it would not be at all social to be 
entirely absorbed in this delight, so I joined in conversation with my 
companion. He took an early opportunity to mention, incidentally, 
that he had been in the Hussars for fifteen years, and that he had 
double-barrelled pistols in his pockets, and a gun under the seat, for 
robbers ! I i-eceived the account very coolly, examined the pistols, and 



336 THE ITJSSAR. 

told him of a kind we had, which would shoot six times to his 
twice — rather doubted whether they were ever of much use to any- 
one, except to " a dead shot," — and then fell into a long conversa- 
tion with him, with the deliberate purpose of trying his political 
principles. 

I had felt very cmious to know who my " gentleman-escort" 
would be — ^I was quite sure that I could win the sympathies of 
almost any Hungarian if I chose, and I concluded they would send 
a Bohemian, as they themselves, nearly all, were Bohemians. But 
I saw immediately that they had chosen their man with their usual 
skill. A Hungarian, but one who had served in the Austrian army 
for fifteen years, until almost every free idea was worked out of him. 
A brawny fellow, of iron nerve, used now as chief of mounted 
poHce, to scour the country for robbers, and dependent on Govern- 
ment for his bread. I was as safe under him as I would have been 
with an escort of a regiment of dragoons. As we rattled along 
through the dark woods, or over the plains under the bright star- 
hght, he commenced the conversation by a series of stories calculated 
to impress my mind, of terrible combats he had had with robbere in 
such places. How they had shaken with fear, till their pistols 
dropped from their hands, at merely hearing his name ! How he 
had penetrated into their hiding-places in the woods, and shot their 
chiefe in the midst of the gang ! How many narrow escapes he 
himself had had, and the hke, until he thought I was sufficiently 
awe-struck thereby. 

The convei-sation did connect itself very appropriately with the 
dark thickets through which we passed, and the uncertain, star-lit 
scene around us — and I could very readily have imagined, in many 
a gloomy covert, the robber-bands he was describing. But I was 
most interested in other things, and commenced plying him soon on 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 337 

every side in political matters. He proved, for a long while, utterly- 
insensible. He was interested to hear of America ; thought it was 
a very good thing to be where there were ""no passports," and " no 
political Police," and where " the boot-black could become Presi- 
dent if he was intelligent enough," — still, " he didn't care a damn ; 
it was good enough here, if they had only given him a rather better 
pension. It was a rich and beautiful land, with corn and wine plenty 
and cheap. He had enough." I sounded him about " the present 
pohcy of the Government in Hungary : " It did not trouble him 
any, except the tobacco-law, and that not so much him as the others, 
because he was a Government officer ; besides, he thought it would 
be repealed." 

I led him on to the Revolution. Oh ! that was a fanciful, over- 
strained matter. It never could have succeeded — ^he always said so. 
They had liberty enough before ! " And then it broke up our 
splendid regiment of Hussars ; they all went over to the Hunga- 
rians !" 

There was only one point on which he was open to attack, and 
that was his country, and the valor of his countrymen. Despite his 
being an " Imperial officer," he did relate, with a most evident gusto 
how " His Imperial Majesty's soldiere" were scattered by the Hun- 
garians, till nothing could be found of them on the Upper Danube ; 
and it was a real delight to him to desciibe how the undisciplined 
army of eight thousand of his countrymen held a tried Russian host 
of eighty thousand a whole day at bay, near Debreczin. Then his 
own Hussars, what terrible fellows they were ! How they stormed 
Ofen on foot, when they couldn't use their horses ! How they loved 
the battle, and how they broke their swords and shot their horses 
and themselves, when they heard of the laying down of the arms at 
Vil4gos ! 

15 



338 THE RIDE. 

He was a true servant of the Emperor ; he had everything to bind 
him to his service ; but when the cry of " The Country !" echoes 
once more through the land, and his old comrades have struck some 
bold blow, will even he stand aloof ? 

I have related the conversation as illusti'ating a most prominent 
trait in Hungarian character — a trait destined exceedingly to affect 
the destiny of the nation. 

Our conversation gradually drooped as the night came on, and my 
companion nodded in his seat. I had no inclination to sleep, how- 
ever. There was too much in these past days to think of, and too 
much to hope for, and too sudden a contrast of feelings, to allow me 
in any way to rest. I had been a criminal behind iron bars and 
stone walls, with the chance always hanging over me of being sud- 
denly summoned before the court-martial and shot as a spy. All 
I could see of other men, was among my fellow-prisonei's, and the 
only sight of the woi'ld, which never seemed so beautiful as then, 
was through the chink in the closed dungeon-window. 

Now to be whu-hng along in the free air ; to be treated in some 
degree, as an honorable man again ; to know that I was hastening 
on towards those who trusted and love me, and that I was getting 
nearer the great routes of travel, where sudden deeds of dark injus- 
tice could not so easily be done — all this filled me with such exhila- 
rating feeUng-s as one can never have a second time in his hfe. But 
I did not feel entirely secui-e. I had not the least shadow of confi- 
dence in the honor or the justice ot the Austrian authorities. The 
prison had revealed too many an iniquitous deed. And it struck 
me as remarkable, that we had started off just at the edge of even- 
ing — though, as I have since thought, the reason probably was, that 
they feared a demonstration, or a rescue in Gros Wardein, where the 
excitement was very great about the matter. I resolved to watch 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 339 

the proceedings of my companions closely, and at once to call upon 
the Hungarians, if any deed of violence seemed probable. Occu- 
pied in these thoughts, I was hardly conscious that the short night 
was over, and the morning light glimmeripg around us. We soon 
begin to meet, however, the indefatigable Bauer going out to their 
work ; and within a short time the roads were full of heavy wagons 
and the market-women, with their huge baskets, and I could soon 
begin to see those most oi'iginal-looking Hungarian villages, which 
had so interested me in my earher travels. At length we stopped 
at our second station, in the early morning, and lay down on some 
benches for an hour's sleep. 

I met an instance here of that Hungarian pecuharity which I 
have before mentioned. 

My Hussar called upon the village judge for horses. The pea- 
sant promised them. The Hussar seemed to doubt whether he 
would hold to his words, and still demanded a further promise. 

The only reply which the peasant made, was a dignified " Magyar 
ember !" "/a??i a Hungarian P'' and the Hussar was at once satis- 
fied. 

All that day, till late in the evening, with a new Vorspann in 
every village, behind those fine-limbed, little Hungarian horses, so 
rough-looking, but so fleet, we rattled on over the wide Pusztas 
toward the Theiss. I was surprised to see how the report of my 
affair had spread. Every tavern-keeper knew all the circumstances, 
even to the acquaintances I had visited ; though the account of my 
treatment was rather worse than reality : as they all had it, I was 
put directly in irons ! The interest was the greater, as there is 
scarcely a xdllage in the land, where Webster's letters have not 
reached, and probably the similarity between my case and that sup- 
posed of Mr. Mann, struck them at once. 



340 TREATMENT BY PEASA.NTS. 

We passed during those days through the country of the " S^tock 
Hungarians^'' as they call them — the original, genuine race — ster- 
hng men, whom five hundred years of Austrian oppression will 
never make slaves. 

It was a very gi'eat secret satisfaction to me to see how my 
''Imperial Officer" was treated among them. He had an "open 
order''' from Government that " no one should delay him on raih-oad 
or highway for an hour ;" and every village was bound immediately 
to furnish him its Vorspann — that is, a wagon with four horses. 
Besides, he could have imprisoned any of them a twelvemonth for 
impeding him. But he could get nothing done. The sturdy Hun- 
garian farmers on the road — the Bauer — met him grimly and 
roughly, or they stood by in silence, looking out sternly at him 
from under their dark eyebrows. He offered money freely, and he 
stormed, but it was long before he could get horses, or even accom- 
modation in the inns. One rough old Cumanian inn-keeper he 
would certainly have sent to the fortress, if it had not been for my 
solicitation. He was obliged to summon the village judges for the 
Vorspann, and tall, noble-looking peasants they were, wrapped in 
their huge sheep-skins. But, Bauer as they were, they met him 
with a bearing even more pi'oud and dignified than his own. They 
did not answer his threats, and obeyed his commands, but there 
was not a trace of fear or of cringing in them. I could not but con- 
trast with all this my own treatment, when I travelled a few weeks 
ago among another part of the same race as an " American." 
Then no hand could be too quick to serve me. Horses were offered 
more than I could use, and no money would be taken. Every 
home was open to me, and hospitality Avas poured upon me, more 
than I could possibly accept. The eyes of strong men filled with 
tears, as they spoke of the noble generosity of our nation to the 



HUNGARY IN 1851, 341 

poor exiles from Hungary, and of the generous sympathy we had 
given theii" country. Enough could not be done to welcome the 
American. 

Travelhng on in this way, through the long June days, it was 
towards the middle of the third day before we began to approach 
the neighborhood of Szolnok, where the railroad from Pesth termi- 
nates. 

Here, in an out-of-the-way place, as good luck would have it, we 
chanced suddenly on two of my friends, whom, of all others, in 
Hungary I wished most to see. They had been examined, I knew, 
in my case, and, as they were men of wide influence, I wanted 
extremely to tell my own story to them. I had feared I should be 
sent out of Hungary without ever having had an opportunity of 
giving my version of the affair. 

It was a great surprise to all of us, meeting ; but before my 
Hussar knew exactly what to do, I was out of the wagon grasping 
hands with them, and half through my account of the trial. I 
spoke in a loud voice, and stood right by the side of the officer, and 
he did not venture to interrupt us. They heard with great interest, 
though they had understood it all, from the beginning. And as I 
related how long Mr. McCurdy had demanded, and how long my 
release was delayed, I could see that, despite their sympathy, their 
eyes sparkled with a secret satisfaction. In reply, they told me of a 
proceeding of the Gros "Wardein Court, which, better than anything 
else, will show to the world the character of these Austrian Courts. 

They had received a letter, before their examination, from the 
Com-t, under the name of Gen. Braunhof himself, stating that I 
had confessed I was an emissary of Ujhazy, and exhorting them, if 
they expected any mercy, to confess all they knew of me ! 

This, be it remembered, was a letter to prominent men in Hun- 



342 RAIL-ROADS AGAIN. 

gary, signed with, the name of the General second in command in 
the land. 

If this does not show unprincipled -vdllaniy on the part of Austrian 
Courts, it is difficult to say what would. 

At length after three days of this constant travel, we reached the 
railroad station near the Theiss, the limit of our journey with horses. 
I cannot recal many pleasanter sights than the first glimpse, as we 
approached the station-house, of a real black, puffing locomotive. I 
seemed to be indeed getting back into the world again. It spoko 
of open, stirring, modern life, and of something entirely opposed to 
these secret Courts and hidden Inquisitions among which I had 
been so long. It reminded me of the free, untiring America — of 
Home ! I was coming out into the day once more, and joining in 
the great currents of hfe, where these dark deeds of violence could 
not so easily be done. 

But I was not by any means free yet, and despite all the confu- 
sion, the Hussar, or the thin, needy-looking JSTotary with him, kept 
continual watch over me while in the cars. 

It was really very singular, on that day, how many of my 
acquaintances were traveUing. Every carriage on the railroad had 
some whom I knew. And though I was strictly watched by my 
escort, I contrived to spread it through all, that I was on the point of 
being hberated. 

Our Notary took occasion in private to express his s}Tiipathy 
with my case, and his hopes of what it would show of the Austrian 
system. I thought, from his whole manner, he was trying to 
'•'■ jpum'p''' me ; and I answered in a general abuse of the Austrian 
Court in Gros Wardein, which I shall be very glad if he carries back 
faithfully to his employers, as, from all I have since heard, he was 
probably a spy upon me. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 343 

I had a great advantage over my Hussar, as his instructions were 
a Uttle indefinite. He was confused, too, b}^ the bustle of the rail- 
road, and I managed to take some liberties, which would doubtless 
have not been agreeable to his officers in the Fortress. There was 
a family in another car, which I had visited when in Inner Hur- 
gary, and I contrived to go in, introduce the Hussar to some pretty 
young ladies, and convey all the facts I desired, without the old sol- 
dier really knowing exactly what had, been done. Without in the 
least deceiving the man, too, I arranged it so, that he went directly 
to the Hotel, where I would very probably meet friends. And sure 
enough, we had scarcely entered it, when there was a friend by my 
side. " Damn them .'"' was his fii'st salutation, in very hearty, pure 
English and under-tone. I grasped his hand warmly, and before the 
Hussar had well recovered from the din of waiters and hack-di-ivers, 
I had told in English the principal facts in my case. 

After we reached our room, another gentleman came in acciden- 
tally, and soon fell almost unconsciously into an English conversation 
— how McCurdy had alarmed the Court by his demands — how 
deeply anxious my friends had been, and how there was a rumor 
of two American ships of war in Trieste — how Telegraphic Orders 
had been at once received here to get rid of me as soon as 
possible. 

" Meine Herrn, sprechen Sie Deutsch /" — " Gentlemen ! Speak 
German !" came forth in deep voice from the old soldier, in the 
midst of our smooth conversation. I had no inclination to decei-\-e 
the man, and had thus far dealt openly by hira, and liked his open 
way with me, so T told my friend to speak away. He continued, 
but it was astonishing how diplomatic and vague it all became, as 
saon as he had the Austrian soldier for a listener. As he went out, 
the Hussar apologized in a manly way for his interruption. I 



344 POLITENESS. 

then made the attempt to write a letter, but the Hussar informed 
me that he was instructed to forbid that. And it appeare that, in 
general, he had even stricter orders about me than he had executed. 
Finding this was the state of things, I insisted on going at once to 
the Commissaiy of Police. 

, There I had another specimen of this unequalled, skilful, diplo- 
matic politeness of the Austrian police — a kind of politeness which 
carries the point before one thinks of it, and quite makes it impos- 
sible for one to ask downi-ight questions, and befogs one utterly. 

" Oh, sir," said the Clerk, " we regret that we cannot give you 
better quarters ; we are only travellei-s ourselves, now — one day in 
Vienna, and another in Pesth ! But the hotels are so shockingly 
dear now, that it will please you far better — and then they are so 
dirty!" 

" But am I at liberty. Sir ?" 

" Oh, Sir, we cannot lay down positive restrictions. We advise 
you not to visit your friends tiU your case is decided ; and, as you 
may at any time be summoned, we recommend you to be near by. 
We leave it entirely to your honor. And I assure you we do ex- 
tremely regret the mistake which has occurred," &c., &c. 

All said in the blandest, sweetest manner, and I go to my quar- 
ters, conscious that something has been left to my honor, and 
utterly uncertain how much I have pledged myself to, and what I 
am to do. 

In Gros Wardein, there had been no question of honor, and I had 
taken every allowable advantage. But here, for a day or more, I 
was a closer prisoner in the house of the Commissary, than I had 
been in the fortress. However, at length, I succeeded in getting an 
audience with the Chief, and requiring a distinct answer as to my 
position, and after this T went about free, on mj parole, and returned 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 345 

to the house in the evening. I also asked about the long delay of 
my release. He employed the usual befogging expressions ; — " Die 
Verhdltnisse — die Umstande^'' &c., &c. " The circumstances, Sir, 
the arrangements, the forms of law, the going to the Auditor and 
the General," &c., &c. 

I could make nothing of it, and told him so. " It was remark- 
able, I thought, that the Court in Gros Wardein could have hung 
me at once, but could not free me. I must be sent to Pesth for 
that ! And the arrest was within six hours after the suspicion, but 
it needed six weeks for the acquittal !" 

He shrugged his shoulders, and remarked on the peculiarity of 
the forms of law in Austria, &c. 

The truth was, as he well knew, the whole matter was inten- 
tional ; and the only thing I had to congratulate myself on, was, 
that I was freed at all. 

As I was waiting in the Commissary's ofBce, that day, I happened 
to take up a foreign paper — and observing something marked, read 
the passage. It proved to be information respecting the Hungarian 
Exiles. 

On looking further, I found the whole table covered with foreign 
Journals, from almost every country, containing similar little items 
of news. 

It may be imagined with what eagerness I hurried out to see ray 
friends — the generous and true-hearted men who had been riskii^ 
and working so much for me. They all welcomed me, almost as 
returning from the grave. I found that they had indeed done 
eveiything — telegraphed to Vienna, sent men and letters wherever 
help could be gained ; notice had even been forwarded by them to 
Berlin, to Mr. Bai'nard, our Minister, and he had, with great friend- 



346 ORDERS FROM VIENNA. 

liness, presented a most thorough and efficient statement to the 
Austrian Ministry as to my objects and character. 

What they had most feared — from a knowledge of these Courts 
— was some sudden violence, before the facts could get abroad — and 
then, afterwards, either a presenting of false evidence, or an utter 
disavowal of the whole affair. 

They had all been examined closely, and as some of them were 
strong friends of the Government, their testimony had had great 
effect. 

Though I saw, they all had the impression that the examination 
was merely formal, and that the Authorities in Hungary were only 
acting under instructions, without any suspicions of their own. 

The Order for my arrest aj)pears to have come from Vienna to 
Field Mabshal Lederer — and then was transmitted to General 
Braunhof in Gros Wardein — where the warrant was issued. So 
I learned from a prominent gentleman, the son-in-law of 
Lederer. 

No one could explain it in Pesth, otherwise than as a reprisal 
for American sympathy for Hungaiy, or as the usual Austrian sus- 
picion of an American. 

I think no one supposed the suspicion arose from any proceedings 
of mine within Hungary — as indeed all the testimony of my 
acquaintances on the trial showed. My most suspicious acts in the 
countiy, the visits in certain disaffected villages, were entirely un- 
known to the Austrian Court, and nothing whatever was said of 
them. 

The first news of my imprisonment was carried by an English 
traveller to Vienna. He was designing to spend some time in 
Hungary, but as soon as my friends told him of my danger, he said 
he would go on immediately, and apply to the English and Ameri- 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 347 

can embassies — " it concerned him as much as me," he said — " No 
Enghshman or American could be safe, where such acts were 
done !" And with real English heartiness he did not leave Vienna 
until Mr. McCurdy was thoroughly informed of the facts. I do not 
know him — and 1 have never been able to meet him, but if these 
lines ever meet his eye, let him accept the lasting gratitude of the 
man whom he aided so manfully and truly in his time of utmost 
need. 

As soon as I could, with several of my fiiends in company, I 
walked out to the house of an English missionary, Mr. W.,* living 
without the town ; a gentleman who had been most active in his 
efforts for my liberation. They tried to disguise me, in order to 
prepare a sm'prise for him, but he recognized me at once from a 
distance, and hailed me as " The Emissary," and hastening to meet 
us, forgetting his English coldness, he threw his arms around my 
neck, as if I had been his son. At the house, on the balcony, we found 
a real English tea-table, spread with bread and butter and tea, in 
home style, and a lady was there to welcome us in English. How 
shall I ever forget that evening, so rich in deep, happy feelings ! 
The scene was one never to be forgotten. The sun was just setting, 
and the rich rays poured down into the whole valley of the Danube, 
which lay at our feet, gilding with glowing light the fine buildings 
of Pesth, and the summit of the old fortress of Ofen, while it left 
the side toward us in dark shadow. The colors changed each 
stant on the clouds above, becoming more and more gorgeous. 
Old as the sun went down behind the Ofener mountains, there 
eemed to be almost endless vistas of splendid coloring opening be- 
yond. 

"We all felt the scene with an awe and happiness not to be spoken 
♦ One of the Missionaries just banished by the Austrian Government. 



348 TEA-TABLE. 

in words. And as the old missionaiy called us to the table, and 
uncovering his gray locks, thanked Him who had made all this, for 
His goodness, and that He had brought their friend back again from, 
danger and suffering, I joined with a thankfulness not to be 
described. And as he prayed for "the unhappy land," and that 
" the ends of justice might everywhere be fuithered," I resolved 
inwardly that, God willing, my efforts should never fail, while I had 
strength to give them, for the oppressed in any land. 

How much had we to say that evening. How they described 
their efforts for me, and I talked of the prison and the prisoners. 
I had been speaking German so long that in ray excitement my 
words came forth broken, until Mr. and Mi's. W. must have ac- 
quired a singular impression of the English spoken in America. 
We were all too much interested to eat, but the tea, as we after- 
wards observed, had disappeared in a manner which must have been 
peculiarly alarming to Mrs. W. 

On one of my last days in Hungary, several of my friends among 
the clergymen invited me to an excursion to a beautiful mountain 
in the neighborhood of Pesth. And as we had a little specimen 
there of Austrian police again, it may be worth while to speak par- 
ticularly of it. The mountain must be distant some four miles from 
Pesth. In a pleasant deU upon it, yet vrith a fine outlook over the 
valley of the Danube, is a very neat and quiet hotel. Here we all 
went to dinner. We sat long at the table, according to the Hun- 
garian custom, and at length began to be conscious of the very long- 
continued presence of a gentleman at the next table. He was only 
drinkino- his " black coffee," yet we remembered he had been there 
nearly an hour, and just where he could comfortably hear our whole 
convei-sation. Our dinner lasted some time yet, and still sat the 



HUNGARY IN 18/51. 349 

gentleman there. We Mnted at " spies." We spoke of " listening," 
But the coffee-drinker did not stir. At last we all left our table, 
and took oui' coffee at a table in another room, and called the waiter, 
and asked him who the man was who had sat near us so long. 
He shrugged his shouldere and replied in skilful waiter-style, that 
" He could not know the names of all the gentlemen who came 
there !" We called the landlord, then, and he gave a singular 
shrug at our questions, and said very cautiously, " A government 
officialdom OfenV 

" Certainly a s'py P said I. 

" Very probably," said he, and turned away as if it were a dan- 
gerous subject. I must confess if the coffee- drinker had still been 
visible anywhere, he would have had a little specimen of American 
indignation at such contemptible meanness. My companions were 
quite used to it, and I ought to have been, but it takes long to com- 
pletely accustom oneself to a system of such incredible falseness and 
villany. Luckily for us, our conversation had been upon no " dan- 
gerous subjects." 

However, over these pleasant meetings and this friendly converee 
I must hasten to detail my last experience with the Austrian police. 
I appeared for ten or fifteen minutes before the Court in Pesth, in 
the Neugehaude, (the States-prison,) was told by the Auditor that 
nothing was found against me, and the usual regrets were expressed 
and hopes that I would revisit Hungaiy in a more favorable season. 
I had the opportunity, too, to correct an ingenious little "mistake" 
of the Gros Wardein Auditor, by which in the report of the testi- 
mony, I was made to say that I " had had more sjonpathy than 
the rest of my countrymen," — instead of the smne sympathy as the 
rest, of my countrymen — " for the Hungai-ian Cause ;" then with the 



350 TO VIENNA AGAIN. 

assurance from the Commissary that I was entirely free, I started 
with my own.passpoit for Vienna. 

The offensive books were forwarded by post, and would be re- 
tm-ned me in the city, the Commissary said, as they were probably 
not forbidden there. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 



THE VIENNESE POLICE. 



My first steps, naturally, after reaching Vienna, were to the Post 
Office, where was a huge packet of letters from home, which the 
Police, to my great surprise, had utterly neglected. 

Two weeks ago behind iron bars — hopeless — a convict — now free 
again, in the midst of home-life ! I could hardly realize it. Yet I 
thought it would be safer for me to abridge my enjoyment, and see 
Mr. McCurdy as soon as possible, or I might fall into the hands of 
another of their Covu'ts, and nobody be the wiser for it. 

I need not say, that my meeting with Mr. McCurdy was most 
joyful. We had of coui-se much to re\new and examine in the case. 
When this correspondence is finally published, I am very much 
mistaken if Mr. McCurdy's notes, so spirited and vigorous, do not 
contrast veiy favorably with the long-winded, indefinite epistles of 
the Austrians. They are words strong and du-ect, and are worthy 
of a representative of America. 

That I owe eveiything to him, in this afiair, I need not say. If 
he had not been a genuine man, and had not dai-ed to addi'ess the 
Austrian (^binet as the representative of the United States, should 



352 MR. McCURDY, 

address it, I should nave been still in Austrian dungeons, or have been 
shot before now, as a spy. 

The great point they appear to have made in reply to Mr. 
McCurdy's demands for my release, or for at least my. trial in 
Vienna, was that the Courts of Hungary were independent of the 
Ministry — and, though they might be convinced of my innocence, 
" they must wait for the due course of Law." 

A most manifestly absurd argument in a country, governed 
arbitrarily under martial-law, by soldiers stationed there by the 
Ministry — and one still farther shown to be untenable, by their 
releasing in October an American, imprisoned in Hungary, at once 
on the demand of our minister, without any " due course of Law." 

However, it is probable, all demands for my release might have 
been ineffectual, if it had not been for the accidental presence of two 
American ships of war in Trieste, just at the time of this correspon- 
dence — an entirely chance-event, but which gave a peculiar edge to 
Mr. McCurdy's words. 

It appeared, by the way, that all my lettere, carried out by the 
released prisoner, had reached McCurdy and the others — though 
after much delay. 

I had hardly returned from my visit, when I found an order on 
my table to appear before the Police. I went, at the horn- 
mentioned, to the Bureau, and was met by the Director in his usual 
half-sneaking manner — he never looks a man directly in the face — 
and told that "/ must leave the Austrian territory in three days /" 

" Why ? What does this mean V said I, " I have been acquitted 
of all charges against me. Why is this ?" 

" You could 7iot have been imprisoned four weelcs in Gros War- 
dein" he replied, " tvithout being in some way guilty /" 

" Sir," said I, " the courts in Gros Wardein and in Pesth have 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 353 

both adjudged me innocent of the accusation. If I had been guilty 
I have certainly been punished sufficiently ; and if not, I expected 
a different treatment from this !" 

He replied, with some abuse, about my interfering in politics, and 
" Americans spreading their sentiments," and was getting fast into 
some rather insulting remarks, when I interrupted him by telling 
him that I would have nothing further to say in the matter with 
him ; he must speak on his own business. " Will you take the 
responsibility of this order ? You are aware it will embitter the 
feelings of Americans exceedingly — such an unprovoked persecution 
of an American citizen !" He cared nothing about that he said ; he 
had ordei-s from above. Still, I could lay the matter before om* 
Ambassador. 

Accordingly I went immediately to Mr. McCurdy, and he wrote 
one of his brief, pointed notes, to the Ministry, stating that I had 
returned here, acquitted of the charges, and expecting at least 
courtesy after such a treatment, and inquiring " if anything neio had 
occurred to cause this order, or whether it was a part of the previous 
proceedings." 

This was somewhat of a dilemma for them, and they di'opped the 
matter, and I remained in Vienna. 

I had no permission to remain, and I knew I was everywhere a 
suspected man — the more dangerous, because I had been unjustly 
treated by their Courts. Yet I walked around, feeling that the 
strong arm of the United States was around me. Still, very grand 
and consoling as the feeling is, it becomes rather uncomfortable when 
it is continued too long. One has a sensation as of walking around in 
a highly gallant manner among pit-falls. It seemed to me every 
man I met knew I had been a convict ; and that every gendarme 
eyed me longingly, as if he should soon have his wai-rant for me — 



354 ACQUAINTANCES. 

Besides I could see in reality that each step of mine was watched, 
and I began to grow tired of such unceasing paternal attention from 
the Viennese authorities. A vague fear, too, never left me that T 
had not seen the end of this — that I should never entirely escape ! 

Mr. McCurdy used to congi-atulate me every morning when he 
met me, that " my head was still safe where it should be 1" 

During this time came the sentence, dated the day before I left 
Pesth, though obviously hashed up since, to the effect that I was 
acquitted of the charges, but, on account of my expression, at the 
end of my ti'ial, of previous sympathy with the Hungarian party, 
and the " not unfounded suspicion that I still cherished it," I was 
banished from Hungary ! 

I found that all my acquaintances in Vienna had been examined 
before the Police Couits, as to my objects and character — and it 
appeared, that the testimony of some and the personal efforts of 
others, had much aided me. As they were mostly fi-iends of the 
Government, I had not the heart to see them, even to thank them. 
I may be permitted here, however, to express my thanks for the very 
generous efforts made for me by Count Thun — the brother of the 
Minister of Instruction — and I do it the more readily, as his well 
known loyalty to the Government places him far above all ill effects 
from his acquaintance with an American traveller. 

My few liberal acquaintances I feared to compromise, by visiting, 
and only allowed myself to call upon one gentleman in the late 
evening. He received me, as if from the dead — turned pale, led 
me hurriedly through half a dozen rooms, into a boudoir, double- 
locked the door, listened at the key-hole, embraced me and then 
demanded an account of my affair. I gave it in full, he interlard- 
ing it every now and then with " Ach Gott ! SchrecMich ! (Hor- 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 355 

rible)," and " Schandlich ! (shameful !)" &c., &c. Occasionally too, 
shaking my hand to assure himself of my identity. 

One American friend, resident in Vienna, had been summoned 
before the Court, and questioned about me — and then was obliged 
to leave all his papers to be examined. 

He found afterwards that a long and valued letter had been de^ 
tained, and could not, at first, imagine the reason, until he recalled 
that it contained some excellent advice from a politician in America, 
not to mingle himself with political life, either with "Whigs or Dem- 
ocrats, but to keep separate from cliques and parties, and follow his 
profession (the law,) without entangling himself in ^^olitical man- 
oeuvring^ especially among " the Democrats." All which, probably, 
the Austrian Inquisitors interpreted, as a device to keep out of Rev- 
olutionary intrigues, and " Democratic " (in the European sense,) 
conspiracies — and retained to use as evidence against him, here- 
after. 

Our American friends in writing within Austria, must never lose 
sight of the " double interpretation," so skilfully used now by the 
Austrian Courts. 

After holding this out eight days, I concluded to bid " good-bye," 
for aye to Austria, provided the police would let me go. 

I applied accordingly for a vise to Munich — as the Director had 
said I could be " allowed in no case to go to Italy." The Director 
was,, bland and cringing as he had before been insulting ; " regretted 
extremely the occurrence " — " there would be no farther difficul- 
ties " — he would give me a " Receipt," (Schein,) and I could present 
that in Linz, and would then receive my Passport and the forbidden 
books, (viz., the Histoiy of the War, and the pamphlet on the Hun- 
garian Revolution — those terrible things !) I saw at once his object, 
to keep me under Police-inspection on the Danube, and perhaps 



356 POLICE-DIRECTOR. 

there, when away from the immediate aid of the Embassy, to expose 
me to farther violence. 

" Sir," said I, " why is this ?" Why am I not treated hke other 
travellei-s ? "Why do I not have my own passport ?" 

" Oh, that is nothing ! We give travellers frequently these 
Receipts. You have been arrested in Hungary. It is om* cus- 
tom," &c. 

I inquired whether it was always the Austrian " custom" to treat 
innocent men as if they were guilty — and whether I was still under 
suspicion ? 

" Oh, no — under no suspicion, sir ! I assure you, not. The 
order for your leaving the Empire has only been suspended at the 
interposition of your Ambassador. It is still over you." 

I asked, then, whether this would expose me to delay or farther 
difficulties — ^whether I would be free in Liuz ? His promises were 
most friendly and full, of no kind of further diflficulties ; they all 
regretted the past ; I would have my own passport there, and could 
ti'avel as I chose, &c., &c. 

I did not have the slightest confidence in his fine words, but I 
saw there was nothing to be done, and took the Schein, and wished 
him " Good morning." He accompanied me through several 
apartments, and bowed me out in his blandest manner. 

I made my parting visits, arranged everything with Mr. 
McCm-dy, so that he would know, at once, if anything of a serious 
nature happened to me on the Danube, and started ofi" the next 
morning in the steamboat with a fear of secret, sudden violence, 
which never left me while under the power of the Austrian police. 
At Linz, I was obliged to wait a day for my passport, and there, of 
course, was brought under the annoying police inspection again. 
On calling for the third time, in the evening, at the Bureau, the 



HUNGARY IN 1S51. 357 

local director handed me my books, and I gave a receipt. After 
this, he asked me what route I preferred to Munich ? I told him I 
thought of going by Salzburg and the Salzhammergut, which is a 
very beautiful route, and the one commonly taken by travellers for 
pleasure in going to Munich. He rephed that I would find the 
route by Ratisbon much the pleasantest, and the most direct. He 
would viser my pass at once for Ratisbon, and everything would be 
arranged, and I could travel off the next morning ! 

" What do you mean, sir ?" said I, " speak out plainly. Have 
you orders from Vienna or not, that I must not go by Salzburg ?" 

He thought, with my plans, the other route would undoubtedly 
be much pleasanter and more suitable. 

" I have had enough of this," said I. " I am the best judge of 
my route — Am I sent out of the Austrian Dominions, or not ?" 

He regretted he knew nothing of the case, but his instructions 
were to forward me by the shortest and quickest way out of Austria, 
and that was by Ratisbon ! Accordingly another receipt was 
given me, and my passport was handed to a military officer, with 
instructions to deliver it to me when I entered the boat for Ratis- 
bon. " But why," said I, " these petty annoyances ? Why cannot 
you ti'ust my honor, that I \f\W. go to Ratisbon, if I am so ordei'ed ?" 
He had " the most implicit trust in my honor." but that was their 
custom. I would hand the Schein to the officer, and receive my 
pass, and there would be no difficulty ; " good evening, sir !" and I 
went away, remembei'ing the Jesuitical promises of the Vienna 
Director, and thanking God that I was fast escaping fi-om an 
administration of such consummate meanness and falseness. 

The next day I went on board the boat, received my pass, and 
began to hope I was escaping all farther difficulties. I took my 
seat in the cabin, as it was raining hard, and was amusing myself 



358 FAREWELL TO AUSTRIA. 

with observing the various passengers who collect on a Danube 
boat, when I became gradually conscious that a man on the opposite 
side was watching me closely. He sat somewhat retired in a 
corner, but yet his eyes would find their way, all the while, towards 
me, though when I looked at him, he appeared occupied in some- 
thing else. He was dressed in a half-miUtary green suit, and I con- 
cluded, was very probably some agent of the Police. I resolved to 
be on my guard towards him. 

When we reached the Station, on the Austrian frontier, I jumped 
ashore to get something to eat, and had not made a dozen steps, 
when I felt some one touch me on the shoulder. I turned and saw 
what I had fully expected — my man in the green suit. I had 
become, by this time, quite used to these gentry — and demanded 
abruptly — " What he wanted'''' — " You will come with me to the 
Pohce Office." 

" Why /—Who are you P 

The Captain of the boat came up at this moment, and explained 
that the gentleman was an " agent" from Vienna, and we all went 
together to the office. 

The Commissary asked me why I was there. " I am an Ameri- 
can and a Republican !" said I. " That is reason enough. Sus- 
picion ! suspicion is the rule in Austria !" He shrugged his shoul- 
ders, took down a minute description of me, vised the j^assport, 
wished us " Good morning," and I was handed over into Bavaria ! 

I returned to the boat, and, in a few minutes, with a feeling of 
relief and security, which I had not had for months before, saw the 
well-known monument which marks the Austrian bordei-s grow dim 
in the distance. 



CHAPTER XL. 

The Austrian Policy in HuNCARy since the Revolution. 

As far as I have observed, very little has yet goue abroad in 
Europe of the internal Austrian administration in Hungary. The 
police are careful how they admit strangers, and only those enter 
who are known as fnends of the Government. Indeed, I have no 
doubt that one of the motives for their proceedings against me, was 
the desire of holding forth a warning to all future inquisitive 
travellers. 

I design in the present chapter, to winte a brief account of the 
Austrian policy toward that country, since the Revolution ; and I 
hope, despite the treatment which I have received, to give a candid 
and faithful picture. 

It cannot be denied that the Austrian Ministry, in entering on the 
office of governing Hungary, after the war, had one of the most 
difficult tasks ever placed before statesmen. There was a conquered 
country in their hands, which must be managed as a Province of 
the Empire. There was a land which they had just won with the 
sword, but which must be gained over to them again by kind treat- 
ment. 



360 BLUNDERING. 

Of coui-se, any judicious Austrian statesman would see that merely 
to crush the nation, to grind and squeeze every jjossible penny from 
them, though profitable now to the Empire, would be very useless in 
future. It might lessen the State debt, but it would lay up bitter 
feeUngs, discontents, distrust, which could hereafter burst forth fear- 
fully. The problem before them, as Austrians, was to incorporate 
Hmigary in the Empire, and at the same time to render it well- 
disposed to the Government. It could not be extinguished, and 
therefore must be carefully governed. 

A difficult problem, plainly, for men of the purest intentions and 
the best judgments. I make no doubt, however, the thing could 
have been done in an early period after the Revolution. That the 
Austrian Ministry, however, have failed, signally, egregiously failed, 
will be evident, as I produce the facts which came under my obser- 
vation. Such a stupid, dogged, bratal way of proceeding, as if a 
nation of fifteen millions of gallant, generous men could be crushed, 
and drilled, and moulded like a regiment of their Bohemian boors, is 
almost without a parallel in European misgovernment. One can 
hai'dly understand such a disregard of their own interests. It often 
seemed to me in Hungary, really, as if Providence had bhnded the 
eyes of the Government to their own best policy. 

It might be supposed, that as Republicans, we would rejoice at 
such blundexing. For it is evident that there can be no surer way 
of forcing Hungary into another outbreak than such a policy. But 
every man knows how feaiful is the price of liberty won by a Re- 
volution. If Liberty, if Justice, could be gained for Hungary with- 
out the terrible storm of war and contest, by gradual, gentle, 
rational means, I for one should prefer it. 

As I said before, the difiiculty before the Ministry could have 
been met at an early period. The Hungarian nation are remarkably 



__^ 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 361 

susceptible to generous treatment. They are not a race given to 
hidden passions, or to cherishing hatred and revenge, Uke the 
Italians or the Spaniards. The Hungarian has an open, generous 
nature, ready indeed, to repel a wrong, but even more ready to for- 
give it. I do not at all doubt, that a generous, great-hearted act of 
amnesty, after the vs^ar from the Austrian Government, accompanied, 
too, vpith some evident appreciation of the valor and honor of the 
nation, would have completely won over the whole country for a 
time. Despite the bitterness of defeat, despite their crushed hopes 
and the deep wounds they have received, I believe such a noble act 
as that, would have called forth a thrill of affection and loyalty, such 
as would have strengthened the Austrian authority more than years 
of fusillading and guillotining. 

The Austrians, however, instead of this, proceeded in a brutal, 
savage manner, to hanging and shooting by the hundi'eds. First 
came the scourging by Haynau, and while that poor crazed lady 
lives in Pesth, who still raves of the day when she " run the gaunt- 
let" half-naked, of two lines of Haynau's soldiers, it will be difficult 
to make the fii-st specimens of Austrian administration forgotten. 
Next occurred the execution of the generals and officers. Of course, 
it was to be expected that the Austrians, with their view of the Re- 
volution, would sentence the leaders. But this shooting of thirteen 
Generals in a batch, as if they were so many buffaloes, and this 
hanging of every man of prominence they could get hold of, was 
altogether carrying to an excess their rights, even taking their own 
view of the matter. It is supposed that over a thousand gentle- 
men of station and character died in Hungary on the scaffold or 
the gallows that year, under Austrian hands. 

Accompanying this, there was a deception and double-dealing 
which alienated the Hungarians even as much as the cruelty. 
16 



362 DECEPTION. 

There seems no doubt, that before the surrender at V'dagos many 
of the chief Austrian officers pledged their honor for the safety of 
the prominent Hungarians. Officers have told me, who were en- 
gaged in the affair that, at the time, letters to this effect were shown 
them — and, on the promises in them, they had induced their troops 
to yield. I need not say that nothing was ever heard of these 
promises afterward. Again, at Comorn, the stipulations were that 
all within the fortress should be placed on entire liberty, and allowed 
if they chose, to leave the countiy. The conditions were held 
toward the officei-s, but by an ingenious quibble, the soldiers were 
excepted^ and drafted into the Imperial army. 

All this might have been borne if the succeeding Administration 
had shown itself in any way regardful of the national feelings. The 
internal Government of Hungary, under the old Constitution, had 
been a very effective and economical Government — dating many 
centuries back — and one to which the people were exceedingly 
attached. I have already sufficiently described it. It need only be 
mentioned that it contained in every part those peculiarities which 
have rendered our Constitution, in the view of all political philoso- 
phers, so effective, and which, beyond any other pi'ovisions, have 
ti'ained us in political life. I refer to our " municipal " representa- 
tive system — the village governing itself, and being represented in 
the District — the District in the State — the State in the Union. 

The whole was exceedingly economical, and each petty Adminis- 
tration, of course, knew exactly the objects on which it labored and 
could legislate accordingly. All this, hallowed so by time, and so 
useful in itself, the Aiistrians swept away at a stroke. .The Judges 
were dismissed, and foreign soldiers took their place. The District 
judges were changed into sleek Commissioners fi'om the Crown, who 
came to these distant villages to pick as much as possible from the 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 363 

jioor inhabitants. The Governors and Administrator of the whole 
country were foreignei-s, not speaking the language, and knowing 
very little of the character of the people. Bohemians and Austrians 
filled, and fill now, all the high places of the land, for there is 
scarcely a Hungarian, of the most " Conservative " school, who will 
accept a single place since this coui-se of administration has begun, 
and these govern the nation as if they were ruling their own de- 
graded serfe. Everything is brought under the clock-woi-k police 
system of Austria, and instead of the people of the villages manag- 
ing their own affairs, they are all, to the smallest particular, made 
dependent on the military authorities of Pesth, or the Ministry at 
Vienna. 

If any one will imagine our whole system of internal government, 
our town meetings, our County Courts, our Common Councils, our 
elections, our trials by Juiy, our State Assemblies, all carried away 
at one blast — and a horde of foreign soldiers — as alien from us as 
the Spaniards, for instance — suddenly placed over us, governing 
every word and motion, they will appreciate precisely the situation 
of Hungary since the Kevolution. Such a thing as passe-portes, or 
" permits," to move here or stay there, to own a fowling-piece, or 
carry a sword, had never been heard of in the land. The new code 
changed all that ; and now, no man can stir from one district to 
another, or shoot the crows on his corn, without a " permit." The 
free, stirring, unresting political life of the people, has become 
merged into the still, stagnant police-rule of the Austrians. 

All this change, of course, was very expensive. In place of the 
local governments — economical, watching every expense, and man- 
aged mostly by " voluntary officers — everything is governed from a 
distance, by expensive arrangements, and by well-paid officials. This 
diflference of cost of coui'se, must come out of the hard-oppressed peo- 



364 ATTACKS ON RELIGION. 

pie, Not satisfied with this, the Austrian Govei'iiment has gone 
still further, and made an attack on the Protestant Church of Hun- 
gaiy. The last feelings which a Government will usually wish to 
arouse against itself are the religious feelings of a people. The 
Austrian Ministiy, however, have not dreaded — and in 1850, as I 
have already shown, Haynau published a decree by which the old 
Constitution of the Protestant Church — a Constitution which it has 
held separate from the State for five hundred years, aUke through 
times of loyalty and rebellion — was completely shorn of its privi- 
leges, and by which the whole Church was in danger of becoming 
a mere instrument in the hands of the Austrian Police. 

Of course it was to be expected that the Austrians, after conquer- 
ing Hungary, would seek to change its remarkably free internal 
Government. But whether such a sudden, entire blotting out of the 
old Government, and such an unprovoked attack on the rights, 
(guarantied by three solemn treaties with the House of Hapsburg,) 
of the old Hungarian Protestant Church, was a judicious, yes, a safe 
course for themselves, is another question. Something of the result 
of this policy will be seen, as I proceed. Accompanying all these 
measui-es there have been going on continually, various petty attacks, 
most of all calculated to embitter the national feelings. The old 
Hungarian songs have often been forbidden. The wearing the 
national costume was made a criminal offense. The Hungarian 
colors cannot be shown, except by stealth. 

Veiy naturally, the eflfeets of these regulations are precisely op- 
posite to what the Austrians intended. The old glory of the nation, 
which they would render degraded and forgotten, is remembered 
with all the more affection, in that it is a crime to speak of it. The 
dear old colors, cast out by their conquerors, are worn on the dresses 
of the ladies, and arranged in flowers and leaves on the hats of the 



HUNGARY IN is:il, 365 

peasants. The songs of the country are sung at the remote cottage 
&e-sides, or in the secret gatherings in the villages, with an emotion 
■which they never would have dreamed of before. 

Besides these measures, laws were passed, removing every thing 
which could separate Hungary from Austria. The postal communi- 
cation, the duties, the municipal laws, were made common with those 
of Austi'ia. Nothing remained to separate Hungary from the Em- 
pire , except the hedge of police-restriction which the Government 
had placed ground it. 

After this steady and well-conducted attempt to blot out all which 
could remind Hungary of its Past, the next great step was to con- 
trive means for squeezing the utmost possible revenue from the land. 
This was to be expected. • The debt of the Austrians was over a 
thousand millions (florins). They had conquered — though by 
foreign aid — a lai-ge and rich Province, and with the expense to 
themselves of some hundred and fifty millions. The question of 
finances was a question of life and death to them. With their views 
of the matter, it was to be expected they would seek to extort every 
penny possible from the unfoilunate country. Whether on the 
whole, a heavy taxing of Hungary was the most judicious course for 
their own interests, will appear better hereafter. There were many 
circumstances at this time which would render a high taxation 
especially disagreeable and oppressive to the Hungarians. They 
have never been used to it. I have mentioned before how very 
economically the whole machinery of Government was carried on. 
A similar frugality was exercised in raising a revenue from the peo- 
ple. Most of the principal supplies for Government came from the 
crown lands and the mines, as well as from certain monopolies in 
salt and other articles allowed to the King. The direct taxes were 
comparatively small. Fenyes calculates them at about 12,000,000 



366 TAXATION. 

florins, or nearly $6,000,000. Schiitte, and the Allgemeine Zeitung, 
in its articles on Hungary in 1849, makes them about 8,000,000 
florins per annum. But, on the whole, Fenyes may be considered 
the most careful statistical author who has yet written on Hungary, 
and his estimates may be accepted. Six millions of dollars in taxes 
per annum for a nation numbering 15,000,000, and for aland ex- 
ceeding Prussia in its dimensions by some thousand square miles, 
and but little behind France, was certainly no great sum. 

A heavy, grinding taxation, taking the place of this, would, of 
course, be exceedingly hard. The nation, furthermore, after the war, 
found itself extremely poor. Most of the inhabitants had spent all 
avaliable means in the defense of their country. Farms had been 
neglected, and vineyards almost abandoned. The usual sources of 
income in the sale of products and the exchange of articles was very 
nearly cut off by the disturbed state of the l^nd. Business was all 
at a stand still — and worse than all, an immense proportion of the 
floating capital of the country was in '■'■Kossuth Notes.'''' 

It is well known that the Hungarian President, to meet the 
exigencies of the war issued a very large quantity of paper money, 
to be redeemed from the incomes and properties of the State. A' 
perfectly justifiable procedure, when one considers the very rich 
sources of revenue in the possession of the Hungarian Government. 
These notes, on such good basis, had at once driven the Austrian 
notes out of Hungary, and were received at par everywhere through- 
out the nation. The Bauer especially had gained great quantities 
of them, and carefully laid them away. The nobles had sold their 
property for them, and the merchants' capital was much vested in 
them, for there seemed at the time no safer investment. 

At once on the sudden defeat of the Hungarian cause, all this im- 
mense property became worthless. The Austrians made some cap- 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 367 

tivating promises, to induce the Bauer, particularly, to deliver the 
notes up, promising every man who would hand them in before a 
certain time, some per centage, I think nearly fifty, on their nominal 
value. A number were foolish enough to send them in — received 
a quittance — the notes were burned, and that is the last ever heard 
of the redeeming of Hungarian paper money b}'^ the Austrian Govern 
ment. The great mass of those bills, however, are still held, in con- 
cealment, through the whole land, until better times shall come, 
though the possession of a Kossuth note is a criminal offense now by 
the laws of Austria. 

The mode which, despite all these circumstances, the Austrians 
adopted of laying a heavy taxation on the nation, was peculiarly 
characteristic of the stupidity of their administration throughout. 

The great luxury, I might say, almost necessary, of the whole na 
tion, i^ their tobacco. Every man uses it. The clei-gyman walks the 
streets with his pip)e in his mouth ; the Bauer smokes at every meal 
and all through the long evenings ; the gentleman plies the cigar, 
wherever he is, from morning to night, in fair weather and foul, in 
work or in play. It has become a national habit. There is hardly 
a farm in the land which does not contain its little tobacco field. 

This article, as a luxury, the Austrians very rationally concluded 
to tax. That, however, this taxing a product of the soil, and one 
so much in use by the poorest classes, was equally rational, we very 
much doubt. The mode, however, as I said before, and the amount 
of the tax, was the most singular. 

The peasant, when he was about to plant his tobacco in the Spring, 
must first wait upon the Commissioners and obtain a written " per- 
mit," (for which he paid a stamp-duty,) altogether going through 
with a veiy vexatious proceeding, for a man in his situation. After 
this, he quietly plants his tobacco, and is suffered to rest a few weeks, 



368 TOBACCO-LAW. 

until the plants are a little grown ; then he is waited upon, in his 
turn, by the Royal Commissioners, who assess the present amount 
and the amount which probably will be when the time of gathering 
comes. 

This is not enough, however. Again at harvest time, His Majes- 
ty's Commissioners show themselves at the peasant's paling, and if 
the present crop has been injured, or proves unfortunately short, or 
falls in any Avay below the first estimates, the unfortunate Bauer must 
pay the difference. 

But still he is not allowed to pay the tax on his tobacco, and then 
sell it as he chooses. That would be far too much " hcense " for 
their theoi-ies of government. No, he mnst carry all his tobacco — 
every fragment and leaf, even what he has been wont to use as fod- 
der — to the Commissionei's, who, of com-se, must be provided with 
store-houses, and a set of clerks to overlook it — all new items of ex- 
pense — and there he must sell the whole crop at the Government 
prices. And if he wishes any for his own use, he can buy it back, 
also at the Government prices. What those prices are, will be evi- 
dent from this instance in the town of M , in Heves Comitat. 

A gentleman there told me, that tobacco which he could sell for 
forty Gulden ($20) the Zentner, he was obliged to dispose of to 
the Government for from seven gulden to twelve the zentner ; which 
tobacco the government agrain sold to him and others at the rate of 
seventy gulden ! In the Bihar Comitat, I heard instances of Gov- 
ernment taxation even worse than this, where the dead loss to the 
planter would approach ninety per cent ! And this, be it remem- 
bered, not a tax upon an export, or upon an imported luxury, which 
the Government would quite .as willingly see banished — as in the 
case of the English tax upon tobacco — ^but upon a product of the 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 369 

country, on wWch tliey only wish to raise as much money as possi- 
ble. 

Let this whole law be observed as a specimen of the Austrian 
system, which they would so stupidly fasten upon Hungary. The 
very idea of taxing a product of the soil in any way, ought to have 
been obsolete. But this summoning ignorant peasants to the Com- 
missioner's office, these forms and proceedings, this minute interfer- 
ence in the man's sowing and reaping, the expensive outlay for Gov- 
ernment officers to effect it all, and the bold interference in the laws 
of trade, show the extreme of impractical legislation. The results 
have been what might be expected. The peasants refused to plant 
tobacco, if it must be done under such an array of legal proceed- 
ings. They had rather not smoke, than have all kinds of royal 
officers haunting their barns. They burned their seed, and were 
imprisoned for destroying their own property. The gentlemen 
found it would not pay at all, to raise a crop which they must sell 
to Government at a loss of seventy per cent, on its real value ; and 
rather than pay such an odious tax, they preferred to abandon their 
cigars and pipe. 

The new tax has accordingly paid the Austrians very poorly thus 
for, and they have been obliged twice to postpone its full execution. 
The last time it was to come into thorough operation was in the 
beginning of July, when I was leaving Hungary, and I could not 
therefore see its working ; but I know how the whole people felt, 
and I know how many of the planters have entirely abandoned the 
cultivation of the plant, so that I have little doubt the Austrian 
Ministry will extort very little from the Hungarians on that tax at 
least. 

In one place through which I passed, in Heves Comitat, where 
there had once been five hundred tobacco planters, there are not 



370 OPPOSITION. 

now five. In every village they gave the same account of tlie dimi- 
nution of tte tobacco crop. I visited very many gentlemen who 
had not only given up raising tohacco, but had also resolved to 
leave oflf the habit of smoking, when the new law came into opera- 
tion on the fii-st of July. Numbera had pledged themselves never 
to smoke the " Imperial tobacco," as it is called, after it has passed 
into the Commissioners' hands ; and it was said that even then the 
royal officers were obliged to label their cigars " Hungarian tobacco," 
i. e. tobacco not delivered into the hands of the excise officers, in 
order to make it saleable. Very many told me they meant to hold 
out against the tax, as we did against the tax on /ea, in our Revolu- 
tion. " It was bad enough paying Austria's debts," they said, " but 
such an annoying, oppressive tax as this was intolerable." 

I must confess, I almost doubt the ability of the Hungarians to 
give up their old habit, even for such patriotic motives. Still, it all 
shows the feehng of the country toward their new government. 



CHAPTEE XLI, 

Austrian Policy in Hungary. 

The next ste^) of the Austrian Ministry, in their course of taxa 
tion, was to lay a heavy duty on all toine made in the country. 

In Tokay, where the most vahiable wines are produced, the duty 
was two Gulden per Eimer, (about eight cents a gallon), when the 
price was only four and a half giilden, or a duty of about fifty per 
cent, on a product of the soil ! In another town, lying farther 
soiith, where I was, they estimated the tax at even seventy-five per 
cent. 

Besides this, the cultivator must pay a further tax of five per 
cent, on the ground of his vineyard. All this, of couree, comes 
exceedingly hard on an impoverished population .; and the Bauer, 
especially, feel it, as they have always been in the habit of raising 
their own wine, and. have, natiu-ally, very little ready money. 

The results of this, too, are beginning to be apparent. Peasants 
abandon the cultivation of the vine, rather than incur such expenses, 
and betake themselves for spirituous drink to the vile plum brandy 
which is manufactured in the country. The large \ane planter 
have red,uced their vineyards to a considerable degree ; and very 



372 AUSTRIAN "IMPROVEMENTS." 

many of the gentlemen have given them up, for the present altoge- 
ther. 

But this is not, by any means, all the taxation. Every house 
pays a by no means moderate sum, and the garden has its tax also. 
Though the duties on the borders are nominally raised, many of the 
exports from Hungary into Austria must still pay a heavy tribute, 
in the way of taxation. Numerous other articles heap up the 
amount of taxes, and as a climax, comes the poll-tax of a dollar and 
a half, through the whole male population. 

In considering these various measures of the Austrian administra- 
tion, it would not be just to pass over some, in another direction, 
which they claim are highly beneficial to the country. These are 
hmited to the improvement of the roads and the postal communica- 
tion. As I have said in a previous chapter, I consider these im- 
provements very much exaggerated. In by-roads, in roads running 
across the country, in improvements within the cities, there are no 
marks of Austrian labor. But in the two great military roads, one 
running from Pesth to Siebenbiirgen, through Gros Wardein, and 
the other fi-om Pesth to Szegedin, in a southerly direction, something 
in the way of " improvement" has been done, through the forced 
labor of the peasants. It is true, too, that on these two roads the 
post runs somewhat more speedily than it used to ; though whether 
this increased celerity is at all compensated for, by the risk which 
every letter incui-s of passing through the hands of the Chief of 
Police, is another question. The truth is, in -whatever can aid in 
the mihtaiy occupation of the country, in connecting fortresses with 
highways, in building tetes du pont in the cities, and embankments 
around the citadels, the Austrians are active enough ; but in any 
more useful direction, I could not see that they were. 

The question of most interest to us in foreign lands, comes up at 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 373 

this point. What has the Austrian administration gained in Hun- 
gary from all this policy ? 

As I said before, I have no doubt that in an early period after the 
revolution, the Austrian Government might have won over almost 
the whole nation. As it is — I had almost said it with a God be 
thanked — it is too late. Duplicity and Oppression have done their 
work. Years of good government, and of honorable dealing and 
kind treatment, would not efface the remembrance. The Ministry 
of Vienna have lost all that they might have gained. 

It is well known that one great weakness of the Hungarian party 
lay in their contests and differences with the other tribes — especially 
the Wallachs and Croats. Of course, it should have been a promi- 
nent object of the Austrian Ministry, as prudent statesmen, to 
preserve the friendship of these nationalities. But they appear to 
have become confident, from the wonderful success of the war, and 
fi'om the aid of their powerful ally ; and they proceeded quietly to 
strip the Croats of every privilege, and to extort from them every 
possible penny, just as they had done with the other Hungarians. 

There is no proof that the Croats had ever been really oppresised 
under the other administration. The forcing of the Magyar lan- 
gurge upon them as their diplomatic language, was their greatest 
grievance. Still, they had always been allowed their peculiar pro- 
vincial privileges — their Assembly of Representatives, and local 
laws, differing somewhat from those in the rest of Hungary. Their 
share in the national taxation had been much smaller than that of 
the other tribes. The Austrians, however, totally forgot all this, 
and their services towards themselves. The Gei-man language has 
been forced upon them, quite as much as the IMagyar would have 
been. All their peculiar privileges have been buried under an in- 
discriminate military rule. The Ancient Croatian Assembly of 
16* 



371 TREATMENT OF CROATS. 

Deputies liiis passed awtiy, not to be revived till tliat indefinite day 
of the future, when the Austrian Constitution of the 4th of March 
comes into life again. The heavy burden of Austrian taxation is 
laid upon them too, and they find that they, the faithful allies of the 
Emperor, must pay for the long course of Austrian extravagance 
and wastefulness. They have deserted their natural aUies and 
kindred, and have degraded their ancient kingdom into a province 
of Austi'ia, and all they get in return, is a share in the grinding 
oppression which is fastened upon the rest of Hungary. The Aus- 
trians began by deceiving and inflaming them against the Magyars, 
and they end by cheating them and oppressing them worse than 
they ever could have been oppressed before. One would have 
expected that skilful statesmen would, at least, reward followers who 
had suffered so much for their party. But this was not done. 
Whether the Austrians have become blind from their success, or 
whether they wish to degrade Hungary, in eveiy way, as much as 
possible, certain it is that the Croat leaders fare quite as hard as 
many of the Hungarian rebels. The intolerable taxation, the 
annoying police-rule, the espionage, the loss of political rights, have 
all come quite as heavy upon the Croats as the other Hungarians, 
and the harder, as they had expected something better. 

The same is true of all the other tribes, or portions of tribes, who, 
at any time, sided with the Austrians. They are taxed, worried 
with police-i'egulations, fettered in all liberty of speech or action, 
placed under the most arbitrary, lawless military despotism, pre- 
cisely as the worst enemies of the Austrian power. 

This experience, throughout Hungary, has opened the eyes of the 
allies of Austria. The Hungarians, had always warned them, that 
if they should succeed with Austria, they would find themselves 
deceived, and they would see themselves under a tyranny worse 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 375 

than had ever been known in Hungary. They find it all true. As 
a consequence of all this, their whole feeling toward the Magyars 
has changed. I know no better proof of this than an instance 
related to me by the Chief of Police in Pesth, a most loyal impe- 
rialist from Bohemia, aud a gentlemen of great intelhgence, — cer- 
tainly a person whose opinion on such a subject as this would not 
incline too much to the Hungarian side. 

He admitted, in a conversation I had with him while in arrest, in 
his house at Pesth, that there were too many of the Austrian 
officers in the country who did not understand the Hungarian 
character, and allowed that, unfortunately, the Austrian party had 
lost ground on every side. I inquired about the Census, of this 
year, just finished, and whether I could get access to it? He 
thought it would be difficult at present, but said that he himself 
had seen the returns in the Commissioner's office. 

I asked, with considerable curiosity, whether the report was true, 
which I had heard, that the number of the Magyars had increased 
to a remaj-kable degree ? 

He said, " It was true, at least as far as the census was concerned. 
The whole population numbered about fifteen millions, and of these, 
the Magyars were given in as eight millions^* 

I had heard a report of this before, in the German newspapers 
and among the Hungarians, but I had always supposed it a Hunga- 
rian exaggeration. I inquired what he thought was the reason ? 
He said, " That probably very many of the other nationalities must, 
have given themselves in as Magyars to the officei-s of the census." 

* Chowanez in his Hand Book for Acquaintance with Hungary (Bamberg, 
1851), writing in the interest of the Austrian Government, to induce 
German colonists to emigrate to Hungary, confirms this statement.— 
P. 130. 



376 NEW CENSUS. 

It will be seeu, whatever be the explanation, that this is a very 
important fact for the Hungarian question. If the explanation be 
as the Hungarians give it, that no accurate census was ever made 
until now, under this exact military rule ; inasmuch as previously the 
only object of numbering the population was to find those liable to 
service under arms ; it still does away with one great argument 
against the Magyar or Hungarian paity. For it has always been 
said that the Magyars were only a small part of the population, 
some three or four milHons, and that they had no claim, except that 
of power, to their pre-eminence in the land. But late statistics all 
show a much greater preponderance to the Magyar element than 
lias been allowed. For instance — Fenyes makes the number iu 1842, 
4,870,000 ; and no one will ever accuse Fenyes of over estimating 
anything. The " Universal Gazette" of Presburg, in 1840 states, 
the Magyars as numbering somewhat over 5,000,000, and Schutte, 
a German historian, a very candid and honest writer, gives them, in 
1850, as 5,278,000. 

But leaving this, and admitting the explanation of this new in- 
crease given by the Austrian Police Director, it speaks most strik- 
ingly against what we have heard, in our country, of Magyar oppres- 
sion and injustice to the other tribes of Hungary, and shows what 
the "j)aternal" government of the Austrians must have been since 
the Revolution. Here are three millions of the down-trodden Croats, 
Wallachs, Slavonians, Servians, who in an Austrian census prefer to 
rank themselves with their oppressors, in the time of their disgrace 
and their exile, to giving in their names as belonging to their own 
native tribes ? No motive of interest or favor can be supposed here. 
It would be the last means of gaining anything with the Austrians. 
There could be no other reason than affection and gratitude towards 
the defeated, exiled Magyare, and hatred to the Austrians. With 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 377 

many, it was perha^js au affection originating only oince tlie war, and 
since they had become convinced that the Magyars were really seek- 
ing the good of all Hungary. With others, it was the old attach- 
ment to the Hungarian party which led them, though of different 
origin and temperaments, to fight side by side with the Magyars in 
the campaign of '49. 

Among the other measures which one would suppose a skilful 
Austrian ministry would adopt in governing Hungary, w^ould be 
various devices to win over the immense class of Bauer or pea- 
sants. 

It will be remembered that one of the great acts of the Hunga- 
rian Parhamentin 1B48, before the war broke out with Austria, was 
to free the whole class of Bauer throughout the nation from all feudal 
exactions. 

It will be remembered also, that several months after this act of 
-the Parliament, when the difference between Austria and Hungaiy 
had hopelessly widened, the Emperor published a decree, in which 
he manumitted also all the serfs of Hungary. In the roar of con- 
test which was then rising, the Decree was probably hardly even 
known to the peasantry of Hungary, and nothing more was heard 
"of it till the close of the war. Then would have been the time, in 
the forming a new Government in Hungary, to have made it really 
felt that Austria had freed the peasants. And it is but just to say 
that these measures, for doing away with all feudal exactions, were 
faithfully carried out, after the Revolution, in Bohemia and in other 
parts of the Empire ; though, after all, with no great sacrifices to 
Austria, as the expense had been mostly laid upon the shoulders of 
th« peasants and the proprietors. It is possible, by a judicious pol- 
icy, that the Government might have made the peasants believe 
they were really seeking the best interests of their class. But, at 



378 OPPRESSION. 

once, as if every class must be alike degraded in the unhappy coun- 
try, they commenced by placing over them all, the iron rule of mih- 
tary authority. All the privileges v^^hich they had enjoyed under 
the Hungarian Ministry were at once taken from them. Their elec- 
tions, their assembhes, their voting of every kind, was at an end, for 
*• all balloting is inconsistent with a state of siege, {Kriegszustandr) 
Their Judges and town officers and rulers were sent to them from a 
distance, and were either strangers, or appointed from Hungarians 
whom they despised. They found that they had no voice or vote 
in the matter ; that they were quite as much serfs as before the 
Revolution, and even in a worse condition — for the new taxes came 
upon them even more heavily than the old feudal labor. Each 
peasant must pay for the tobacco he raised, for his wine, his garden, 
his house, his head ; and, more than that, he must labor on the 
pubhc roads for the State, and do other services, until it all became 
more intolerable than the detested Robot. No severer tax could be 
laid upon such a population than a money tax. Labor would have 
been much easier for them to give throughout. 

It is true, agents of Government have gone among them and 
attempted to make the matter clear to them ; they have shown 
them the eloquent Decree of the Emperor, proclaiming freedom to 
all the serfs in his Empire ; they have described the love he bears 
them, " his children." 

But the convincing argument to the peasant's mind — and one 
which stands before him always — is in the facts themselves. 
" Where are the rights," he says, " which I had under Kossuth ? 
" Where are our elections, our officers, our judges ? I could vote 
then. I could be chosen for an office. I could speak and act then 
as I chose. Where's all this ? Now, I have gens d'armes all the 
while watching me ; I can not stir without permission. I have 



HUNGARY IN 1S51. 379 

nothing wliatever to do in the Government. Besides, I must pay 
taxes for everything I eat, and di'ink, and own. Where is your 
freedom .^" 

A few phrases about " the exingencies of a state of siege" will 
never answer such questions — and the Bauer put them very often. 

Besides all this, the Hungarian party have a very strong hold on 
the peasants, from the large amount of Kossuth notes kept in 
concealment by them, and from the dishonorable dealing of the 
Austrian Government in that matter. The amount of these notes, 
still concealed in Hungary, is immense — exceeding, some think, 
50,000,000 florins ! 

Probably the most discontented class in the Austrian dominions, 
at present, are the Hungarian peasantry. 

In addition to the various tribes adverse to the Hungarian party, 
there was an important body of noblemen — " the Magnates^'' — men 
owning vast estates, who had always stood aloof from " the Revolu- 
tionists." Many of them had even sided with the Austrians. 
These men — despised and hated in Hungary — any prudent Ministry 
should, of course, have preserved in their attachment to Austria. 

But, with that bhndness which seems to have stricken the Aus- 
trian Government, they have lost these too. The Court journals 
have sneered at their loyalty. The Court itself has turned a cold 
shoulder upon them. The intolerable taxation has been laid upon 
them, and their estates ; gens d'armes and spies watch them, and 
they fare no better than the " Rebels." Unworthy tools of the 
[Ministry, or ignorant Bohemians, hare been put into some of the 
high offices of the nation, and, with a characteristic pride, the 
Magnates have refused to accept any offices whatever under the 
Government, and accordingly the majoi-ity of them now live in 
gloomy retirement on their estates. I know not a few instances 



380 THE JEWS. 

among them, of men wlio have completely changed their political 
views since the Revolution, and who are recognized now as belong- 
ing to the " Opposition"- — or as being coldly disposed towards the 
Austrian Government. 

The only distinct class of men whom the Ministry might, possibly, 
have gained over to the Austrian side, are the Jews. The result 
would have been somewhat doubtful, however, even if they had 
attempted it. But it does not seem to have occurred to them. 
And Haynau's persecutions of this people — as cruel as the exactions 
of the Middle Ages — have completely driven out what little affection 
any of them might have entertained, toward the Imperial Govern- 
ment. 

The Ministry of late, as if conscious of their mistakes, have made 
various efforts to regain their influence in the land. They have sent 
in German colonists to introduce a new " element" into the nation ; 
they have instructed the Clergy in various parts of the country, to 
explain the ''true nature of taxation" to the people. And the 
Emperor has condescended even to appear at a Court-ball, in the 
Hungarian dress. But it has all failed. 

The colonists have returned, disgusted with the lands given them, 
and enraged at the Ministry for deceiving them. The people 
continue obstinately insensible to " the justice" of paying, at great 
sacrifices, for other people's debts ; and the display of the Emperor 
is thought to be somewhat of a farce, when it is remembered he is, 
at the very time, extending indefinitely, the state of siege over his 
" beloved Hungary." 

As I think over this long course of incredible stupidity and disre- 
gard to their own interests, on the part of the Austrians, I cannot 
repress an emotion of thankfulness. It would have been better 
perhaps for Hungary to have won her hberty in some othej" way ; 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 381 

but the course of events, or rather, a Power higher than these, has 
so determined it. The day has passed now forever, in which 
Hungary can be regained to Austria, by kind treatment. 

What the motives of the Austrians in all this were — whether, 
from the difficulty of finding Hungarian advisers, they did not 
understand the character of the nation and acted with good inten- 
tions, ignorantly; or whether, in the bitterness of revenge, they 
wished to punish and degrade the peoj)le as much as possible, I, for 
one, would not venture to decide. However this may be, and vrith 
no cant of finding ways which are hidden to human eyes, I must 
believe that a just Providence is working out, by these gradual 
means — so unexpected, so truly retributive — the day of redemption, 
of freedom for Hungary. Austrian, blindness or Austrian cruelty 
shall of itself weaken and break the grasp of tyi-anny over the 
unhappy land. May God grant it ! 



CHAPTER XLH. 

Kossuth's Administration — A Retrospect. 

On the 19th of Mai-ch, 1848, the Deputation from the Hungarian 
Parliament to Vienna, obtained permission from the Emperor Fer- 
dinand v., to form an independent Hungarian Ministry. Count 
Louis Batthyanyi was empowered with its formation ; and to the 
great satisfaction of the Nation, nominated Louis Kossuth as Minister 
of Finance. Though nominated by Batthyanyi, Kossuth was, in 
fact, the principal Member of the Ministry. 

On the 11th of July, as the separation between the two countries 
hopelessly widened, and war seemed threatening both from Croatia 
and Austria, the Parliament voted a levy of 200,000 men, and 
supplies to the amount of 42,000,000 florins (about $21,000,000.) 

No Ministry ever had a more difficult task before them. The 
Government of a whole nation Avas to be reorganized, and every 
possible preparation made for a gigantic struggle. The supplies 
thus voted were to be collected; finances were to be arranged, 
tariff regulated, a new currency established. Government property 
farmed, and a great army to be raised and equipped. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 383 

There was more than ordinary difficulty in can-.ng out these 
measures. 

All these departments had been previously managed by the 
Austrian Ministry at Vienna. Few men in Hiurgary had any expe- 
rience in them. The only taxes imposed by t!^e Hungarians them- 
selves, had been the Home-taxes — expended within the country. 
Besides, the whole taxation upon Hungary had always been small, 
and laid in a careless manner. There was no regular list of landed 
estates, so that land might be taxed, and the Nobles were not 
hable to taxes, until the new law came into effect in November. 

The public income fi-om every source to Austria,* had never 
been over 22,000,000 florins per annum, and 42,000,000 were 
needed at once. As a chmax to the financial difficulties before the 
Ministry, restitution was to be made to the landlords, who had 
beggared themselves by giving up their feudal rents and exactions ; 
the whole amount of this loss is reckoned by careful writers at 
$90,000,000, of which Government were expected to restore at 
least a third. 

Id the levying so lai'ge an ai'my, too, the difficulty was immense. 

Hungaiy had never any distinct National army. Her regiments 
were scattered about through the Austrian forces. The nntionfu. 
militia were much too exclusively " volunteers," to be serviceable for 
a regular army. There was a large party, too, of whom the 
Minister of War was one, who dreaded forming any new Hungarian 
Army, lest the measure would completely cut off the chance of a 
reconciliation with Austria. 

* In a pamphlet (Ungarn in seinen neucsten Verhaltnissen — Pesth, 1851) 
which I have lately received, contaiuing the Austrian estimales, they are 
reckoned for 1846 as 23,9'^0,J:29 llorius, wliich is higher than the usual 
estimates. 



384 FINANCE-MEASURES 

These were some of the difficulties before the Kossuth 'and 
3atthyanyi (Louis) Ministry. 

Despite the timidity and inexperience of many of his associates, 
these were met and conquered by Kossuth. 

Accouding to his plan, approved by the ParHament, a National 
Bank was formed in Pesth, from the surplus funds in the hands of 
the Government, and from voluntary contributions. The capital of 
this Bank in a short time amounted to 5,000,000 florins. 

On this he issued 12,500,000 florins in bank notes. 

The management of the Government pi'operty, — mines, salt 
works, monopohes, &c., was so improved, that they yielded tenfold 
more profit. On this again, as a basis, and on the new taxation, 
which would double the previous income of the State, without bur- 
dening the people, he issued paper money. 

So rehable was this basis, that these notes, reaching in December 
the amount of 28,600,000 florins, at once drove the Austrian bank 
notes — though amounting to some forty or fifty million florins — 
utterly out of the country. The smaller landholders, to whom re- 
stitution was due for Feudal rents given up, were to be paid in bank 
notes, the greater in 5 per cent. Consolidated State Bonds, or with 
portions of the public lands. Debts, too, contracted by the nobles, 
on the pledge of their Feudal rents, were to be taken by the Gov- 
ernment, and similar State Bonds to be issued. 

By these measures, Kossuth restored public confidence — created a 
good security for a currency — separated it completely from the 
Austrian, and provided supplies for the war, without, at the time, 
much burdening the people. 

All, this, however, did not prove enough for the enormous expen- 
ditures : and, with a characteristic confidence in the people, he 
appealed to their generosity. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 385 

This was met, as he expected, and hberal contiibutions poured 
in. f 

With a similar almost instinctive knowledge of his nation, he 
proposed that the new army be raised, not by conscription, but by 
voluntary recruiting, at the same time binding the recruits to a 
certain time of service and giving a fixed pay. 

His plan for the formation of the army, shows even more 
remarkably his talent for organization. 

There were to be, according to his proposition to Parliament, 
three great divisions in the military force of the countrj'". 

First, the Regular Army, formed of the old troops of the line, 
who had passed over into the Hungarian service from the Imperial, 
and of the new Honved battalions. 

Second, the National Guard, composed of all the inhabitants of 
the cities and large market towns, capable of bearing arms. 

And third, the Militia, from all the collected male inhabitants of 
the vilages and rural districts. 

In the Regular Army, he proposed to form 100 Battahons of 
Honved Infantiy, each 1000 to 1200 strong, bearing the numbers 
from 1 to 100. 

The regular soldiers within the country should be incorporated 
into these Honved regiments ; and if possible, two companies into 
every regiment, as an aid in exercising and drilling. The "/reo 
corps " then existing in the country, were to be changed into Honved 
battalions. The uniform was to be similar throughout, and the 
colors and style were to be fixed by general orders. 

The cavalry were to be formed of the ten Hussar regiments which 
had left the Imperial army, and of new regiments of Hussars and 
Uhlans yet to be formed. The artillery in like manner were to be 
composed of the old and the new, united. 
17 



386 THE MILITIA. 

The National Guard was armed and organised like the regular 
troops, but their duty was more especially to guard the fortresses 
and cities. Though, if occasion demanded, they were to be employed 
in other service. 

The Mihtia was the branch to which Kossuth had devoted most 
attention. This he designed as the great source from which all the 
other divisions were to be supplied. 

His instructions to them (in October,) embrace 15 Articles, and 
show his thorough knowledge of the use and proper organization 
of a National militia. 

Every man (No. 1,) capable of bearing arms, without distinction 
of age, property, or profession, must take part in the Militia. No 
substitute is allowed, and sickness and bodily weakness are the only 
excuses received. 

The militia (No 6) is to arm itself with every possible weapon — 
even scythes and flails, if no other can be found. Any one, who 
has more arms than are necessary for himself, can be called upon to 
give up the superfluous for the others. 

The duty of the militia (No 7,) shall be to weaken and disturb 
the enemy on all sides ; to break up his communications ; to destroy 
his provision-trains, and means of sustenance ; but always to retire 
from open battle, and to meet the enemy only at the crossings of the 
rivers. 

(No. 9.) The Militia must be organized so that they may be 
ready at any time within three days ; and each district is to have 
its own place of meeting, and its own officei's. 

From the Mihtia fNo. 14, J must be raised the volunteers and 
recruits for the Regular Army. 

All these measures were adopted. The militia system was at fii-st 
somewhat ridiculed by the mihtary men — but the result showed 



HUNGARY IN 1851.' 387 

that such an irreg'ular corps was of the utmost vaUie for annoying 
the enemy, and for furnishing a source from which the regular troops 
could be drawn. 

It has, beside, founded an organization, which will be very efficient 
in any future outbreak in Hungary. 

Beside the difficulties which Kossuth intended to meet by these 
measures, was the universal want of arms, uniforms, and the whole 
materiel of war. To remedy this, he at once established cloth fac- 
tories within the country, and ordered uniforms in the great factories 
of Briinn and Biehz. At his proposition, the Parliament commanded 
a great machine factory in Pesth, to be changed into a manufactory 
of arms, and to be managed by the Government. Orders were 
sent likewise to Belgium and England. He presented also a ■^'\a\\ 
for an immense cannon foundry, as the cannon in the arsenals were 
found unfit for field-service. This too, was, after a little time 
adopted. 

The result of all this showed Kossuth's business talent, and his 
knowledge of the national character. The ranks were filled faster 
than arms could be supplied, and the war, when commenced, ex- 
hibited to the eyes of astonished Europe, a military organization in 
Hungary as efficient as the Prussian ; and an armed and spirited 
force equahng the disposable force of the gi-eatest Powers of Eu- 
rope. 

There are few, I think, in this country, aware of the immense, 
wide-spread system which Kossuth, thus, almost by himself, erected 
in a year, to cope with the power of Austria. He has, it is true, 
the genius and ideality of a master-orator, the enthusiasm and 
heroism of a noble mind, but perhaps still longer than these traits 
are remembered, it will be recorded of him in history that, almost 
in a day, with practical, thorough talent, against many difficulties, 



388 fpYALTY. 

he organized, equipped, and armed a whole nation for a gigantic 
struggle. 

During all this coui-se of his administration, the separation be- 
tween the two countries, from various causes, was increasing. At 
length, in September, after the cold reception bj the Emperor of a 
Deputation from the Hungarian Parliament, and his refusal to sanc- 
tion the Recruit Law and Bank Law, there was a general feehng 
that reconcihation was impossible. 

The cry through the streets of Pesth was " We need no King !" 
" Kossuth for Dictator !" At hearing it, Kossuth stepped out on 
the balcony of his house, and thus addressed the people : " Citizens ! 
Hear my words. My whole being belongs to my country and 
to my beloved people ; but to my King will I remain unshakingly 
true. Trust to me; we will save our country, we will save om* 
King ; we ■wnll save our %vives and our children !"* 

The Parhament, in a session soon following this, despatched an 
especial Deputation to the Palatine, requesting him to nominate 
Kossuth "Prime Minister." He had already nominated Count 
Louis Batthyanyi. Kossuth was one of the first to give his support 
to the future Minister. 

It appears certain, that at this time Kossuth was by no means 
determined utterly to break with Austria. Like the leaders in our 
Eevolution, he held on long to the language, and doubtless, the sen- 
timent of loyalty. To an ideal, noble mind, it is always hard 
entirely to separate from the Past. 

The first really revolutionary measure which he proposed, was the 

formation of a " Committee of Defence," to act somewhat apart 

from the Ministry, who had almost lost the confidence of the nation. 

The Parliament accepted it (Sept. 23 d), and chose the members for 

* Dr. Shutte's Ungarn. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 389 

the Committee. As Kossuth was so incessantly occupied in other 
matters, Paul JVi/dri was appointed the President. 

During the few months following this, as the war thickened on 
every side, the old ministry gradually dissolved itself, the Parlia- 
ment separated, and the whole government fell into the hands of 
the *' Committee of Defence," of which Kossuth had already been 
chosen President. 

When the Parliament met again in December, a new Ministiy 
was formed, of which Kossuth was now appointed chief. 

From this time, to the end of the war, he appears not merely as 
the agitator, but the organizer of the whole struggle. 

From Debreczin, as before from Pesth, he managed his wide- 
spread machinery through the country. The manufactories of arms 
were transferred to Gros Wardein ; new powder factories were 
erected, and the old recruiting kept up, even where the Austrians held 
possession. A great system of couriers was established, too, to con- 
vey at»once to every part, information of the movements of the 
enemy. 

The principal hindrance, however, undoubtedly, to all his move- 
ments, and to his influence over the armies, was the fact, that he 
was not a General. 

It was unfortunate, too, perhaj^s, that Kossuth was not an ultra 
man, siding neither with the radical Szeraere,* on the one hand, 
nor the legitimists, Nyari and Gorgey, on the other. Batthyanyi 
also, and his clique were jealous of him ; and from what I heard in 

* Schlesinger in his "History of the War, vol. ii., p. 84," says, that 
" people were so convinced of his (Szemere's) hostility to Kossuth, in De- 
breczin, that some even talked of a secret understanding between Gorgey 
and Szemere. Perczel, in particular, is said to have repeatedly alluded to 
this." 



390 INDEPENDENCE. 

Hungary, I should think they always regarded him as the " low- 
bom" agitator suddenly invested with power, and to be thrown 
aside when no longer useful. Much for instance, as the liberal 
nobihty of England would regard Cobdek, if a Revolution should 
suddenly place him at the head of afiaii-s. All this of coui-se pro- 
duced division. 

On the 14th of April, 1849, Kossuth was chosen unanimously 
by the Parliament Governor of Hungary^ with the power of select- 
ing his own Ministry. Some of the compeers of Kossuth have 
objected to him, that he was not a keen discerner of charac- 
ter. It does not appear, however, from his choice on this 
occasion, that he failed in his selection. Szemere, Casimir Batthy- 
anyi, Horv4th, Csanyi, Vukowic, and Duschek, all able men ; and, 
with the exception of Duschek, proving true to their cause. 

On the same day, Kossuth had laid before the Parliament a 
" Declaration of Independence for Hungary," setting forth the 
causes of separation, and leaving the form of government* to be 
settled afterwards by the Parliament. In the meantime, the country 
was to be governed as before, by this Ministry, responsible to the 
National Assembly. 

The Hungarian armies were now victorious ; Gorgey was in full 
march towards Vienna ; the country seemed secure, so that all felt 
ready for declaring — what in fact really existed — a complete Inde- 
pendence of Austria. 

The Lower House passed a resolution appointing a committee of 
tliree, of which Kossuth was one, to prepare the formal documents, 
declaring the deposition of the House of Hapsbui-g and the inde- 
pendence of Hungary. The Upper House accepted the resolution 
unanimously. 

Within a month from this time, occurred that unfortunate mis- 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 391 

take — the "assault of Ofen, which changed the whole appearance of 
the campaign ; and within two months the Russians were in full 
march into Hungaiy. 

Kossuth's position became more and more difficult. A civil gov- 
ernor placed over military men, always has an exceedingly arduous 
task. 

In addition here, the generals were not only jealous of him, but 
jealous of one another. 

Kossuth's plan to meet the Russian invasion — and it seems a judi- 
cious one — was to concentrate all the armies, either on the Upper 
Danube, or within the Theiss, and thus act out from a centre on the 
various bodies of the enemy. 

Perczel, however, was unwiUing to give up his conquests on the 
Lower Theiss ; and Vetter could not leave the people of the Banat, 
to the savage cruelty of the Raizeu, and Gorgey refused to abandon 
the country of the Upper Danube, where his own home was ; so 
that, in fact, Hungary was defended in this her last struggle, by a 
number of independent generals, each acting on his own plan. 

Throughout this struggle, and since the defeat, it has been 
painfully apparent that the leaders of Hungary were deficient, in 
one great moral power — the. readiness to yield to another for the sake 
of a principle. 

While they were under the control of the people this defect did 
no injury. But, at this stage of the war, when the National As- 
sembly had lost its power, the mutual jealousies and dissensions 
began more strongly to break out. 

This defect is not peculiar to the Hungarians. Who can forget 
the difficulties of Washington with some of his Generals — or even 
with some of his civil associates in our own Revolution ? If, still 
farther, Washington had merely been a civil Dictator, or the Con- 



392 DIFFICULTIES. 

gress had had no power over the army, who can say that the rela- 
tions between the civil and military power would have been more 
amicable, than in Hungary ? 

Kossuth had for some time, been doubtful of the faithfulness of 
Gorgey — and at length, on the 28th of June, — as I have related 
in the Chapter upon Gorgey, sent a deputation to him, announcing 
that Mezsaros was appointed commander-in-chief. 

The only effect was, that Gorgey after this, acted entirely sepa- 
rate from the Executive. 

The last session of the Hungarian Parliament was held in Szege- 
din, July 21. The cause was all falling in ruins around its defend- 
er, yet here again came forth these infernal dissensions. 

Kossuth feared that Gorgey would prove a traitor, but had not 
power enough to depose him. 

The Ministers, AuHch and Csanyi, were in favor of leaving him 
in his place, at the head of the army. The others were neutral — 
and Szemere and Perczel alone called Gorgey, pubhcly, a 
" traitor." 

There were endless difficulties too, in appointing any one in his 
place. Kossuth preferred Bern, but his appointment would offend 
Perczel as well as Gorgey, as he was a foreigner. Perczel aimed at 
the place, but had not the confidence of the soldiei-s equally with 
Gorgey. The Parliament discussed the question, and, though not 
formally, expressed, by a large majority, their preference for Gorgey 
as Commander-in-Chief. The soldiers, too, were devotedly attached 
to their old General ; so that with the chance that Gorgey might 
yet prove true, Kossuth's course seemed doubtful. 

A stern, iron man, like Cromwell, would have at once summoned 
Gorgey before a Court Martial, and ordered him to be shot. But 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 393 

this was not Kossuth's character. Beside the attempt might have 
failed and utterly ruined the Hungarian Cause. 

Hear the Szegedin Journal in an article on this question at this 
time, as quoted by Br. Schutte. 

•' The war-measures, let Gorgey guide. Let him take the col- 
lected armies of Hungary, and be here, what Bern is in Siebenbiir- 
gen, but under necessary control ; under future responsibility. The 
Hungarian Army has learned to follow him to victory ; the enemy 
to fear him. Three times has he already saved the army ; and the 
Honved who was with him at Isazeg and Szony, fights by his side, 
with tenfold power. 

In the name of the God of the Magyars, and in the face of the 
whole country, I call upon the Government, that it make the propo- 
sition, and that the National Assembly express it. The ship of the 
civil Government, let Kossuth pilot as before, and with the same 
power. In the leading the Hungarian host, let there be unity, and 
the Commander-in-Chief be Gorgey." 

The difficulty was at length adjusted by the Ministry appointing 
Meszaros and Dembinski, provisionally, as Commanders, and Aulich, 
Minister of War. This enraged Perczel, and he resigned his com- 
mand in the Middle Theiss, increasing, of course, by this act, the 
distrust and dissension, spreading eveiywhere. 

After this, came the last disastrous events of the Hungarian strug- 
gle ; and, at length, on the 9th of August, the fatal defeat of Temes- 
VAR ; in which '7000 of the Hungarians were taken prisoners, and 
of an army of 50,000, only 9000 remained, able tc take the field. 
The rest fled over the country, and the surviving officers and gene- 
rals hastened on to Arad, where were the remains of the Hungarian 
Government. Gorgey arrived there the same day (August 10th,) 
and Aulich from Jeno, announcing that he could offer no opposition 

IT* 



394 THE RESIGNATION. 

to the Russians, and that in two days, they would appear in force, 
before Arad. 

It was a time of fearful confusion, the routed soldiers hurrying 
into the fortress ; the defeated Generals and the Ministers, naeeting 
only to recriminate one another; all regular authority lost, and 
each seeing that the Hungarian Cause was in its last hom's. 

On the next day *(Aug. 11th) a Council of Ministers was held 
and it was determined to dissolve the Government and invest 
Gorgey with full powers for negotiating a peace. It seeme^ the 
last hope, as nothing more could be expected from the Civil power, f 

Gorgey, however, refused to undertake this, unless the Commission 
giving him this power, should also contain the abdication of the 
Ministry ; as, he asserted, the enemy would not treat with him, 
unless he were possessed of unlimited authority in the matter. 

*Mad. Pulsky's Memoirs of a Hungarian lady, p. 316 — Vukowif — Letter 
to the Daily News, Jan. 17 — 1852. — Dr. Schiitte and Schleseinger. 

t " And in the last monent, three Ministers beside bound themselves with 
him (Gorgey) — Csanyi, Vukovics, and Aulich — Their letter of resignation 
they accompanied with the words, that there were no other means left, than 
to treat with the Russians. Gorgey, too, urged the same in writing to me 
; . . . I went now with my conscience to work — Should I not consent (to 
resign), then must the thought always press my name in history and my 
soul in life, that perhaps Gorgey could have preserved something to the 
Fatherland ; yet on account of my holding fast on to power, he would not — 
Such a stain I could not bear, on my memory — I had never laid the slightest 
value on Power; I bore it always against my will 

I yielded up to him the highest power with the declaration, that if he 
should ever conclude a Treaty, through which the existence of the country 
was sacrificed to the good of single persons, I would consider it as treachery 
&c." — Kossuth! i Letter to the diplomats in England and France — Widdin, Sept. 
12, 1849. (Leipsic, 1849.) 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 395 

Another, apparently informal Council was held at tne house of 
Csdnyi, in which the Ministry sent in their formal resignation to the 
Governor. Duschek, Szemere, Batthyanyi were not present — the 
two latter being at a distance from the city. Kossuth then signed 
an abdication in favor of Gorgey ; and sent it to them also for their 
signature, accompanying it — says Vukovig — with certain conditions, 
as that Gorgey must preserve the Independence and Nationality of 
Hungary. The foUov/ing is Kossuth's Proclamation to the Nation. 

"After the unsuccessful battles, with which heaven has, in these last 
few days, visited the Nation, there is no hope more, that we can 
continue the struggle, with any prospect of success, against the two 
Great Powers, Russia and Austria. 

As in such circumstances, the preservation of the life of the Nation 
and the guarantee of its Future is alone to be expected from the 
Coipamanders, at the head of the army ; and as, accoi'ding to the 
pure conviction of my soul, the farther continuance of the present 
Government, would be not only useless but also injurious (Schddlich) 
to the Nation, I make it hereby known to the Nation, that I, im- 
pelled by that pure patriotic feeling, with which I have devoted all 
my steps and my whole life to my country alone, retire in ray name 
and the name of the Ministiy, from the Government ; and until the 
time, when the Nation, suitably to its authority, shall provide, I 
invest General Arthur Gorgey with the highest military and civil 
power of Government. 

I expect from him, and I make him responsible therefor, to the 
Nation and to History, that he employ this Power, according to the 
best of his ability, to the preservation of the National life of om* poor 
Fatherland, to its good and to the security of its Future. 

May he so love his Fatherland, without selfishness, as I have loved 



396 TITLE OF GOVERNOR. 

it ; and may he, in the securing the success of the Nation, be more 
fortunate than I. 

With deed, can I no more serve my country ; if my death can in 
any way be useful to it, I will with joy bring my life as the sacri- 
fice. 

The God of Justice and Mercy be with the Nation ! 

LOUIS KOSSUTH, Governor. 
Arad Fortress, Aug. 11, 1849. 

Countersigned, Vukovic***Csanyi***Horvath. 

llie whole was not done certainly with the full legal forms. All 
the Ministry had not been present. The Parliament had not been 
consulted ; and it may be" doubted, whether Kossuth had the right, 
technically speaking, to resign his powers into the hands of another. 

But the truth was, it was no time for legaHties. The Russians 
were in rapid, march upon them — the Parliament had been scattered 
to the four winds — the Ministry had in fact, for a long time been a 
Dictatorship, and, in such an emergency, might — the majority of 
them — bestow their powers upon another, without much im- 
propriety. 

On the question of Kossuth's right to the title of " Governor," 
after he had thus resigned the office, it is hardly necessary to waste 
words. There is no " State" now to be governed, and no Adminis- 
tration of which he could be the Governor. In the truest sense of 
the words, he is the Leader — Governor of Hungary — The People 
hold him such now. Then* hearts have elected him. And, as he 
gave up his office to another, on conditions which were never 
observed, why may he not legally claim the place which morally ho 
holds, of Governor of Independent Hungary ? 

The only point after all, of importance, connected with it, is. Did 



HUNGARY I]N 1851 397 

Kossuth show any want of heroism in thus giving up his office at 
this emergency ? 

In Hungary, I have never heard any reproach against him for 
this act, but lately writings have appeared fi'om some of Kossuth's 
old associates, which render a comment desirable. 

Of course, with all respect for the character of these gentlemen, 
due allowance must - be made by every one in estimating their 
opinions. They have altogether failed in a great Enterprise, and 
it is the unconquerable tendency of every man, in such circumstances, 
to get the blame off from his own shoulders. 

The old jealousies and dissensions too, as is natural with proud 
men, are only stronger in their misfortune. And especially does 
that feehng — of whose power we in America can form no idea — the 
old pride of class, work upon them now. 

That the " low-born" Kossuth should get all the honor of the 
struggle — and the proud old noble be overlooked, is intolerable. 

Our own opinions can be formed best from the facts. 

When this Resignation was made, the Russian army on one side, 
numbering from 80 to 90,000 men, was rapidly advancing on 
Ai'ad ; the victorious Austrian forces on the other, with 75,000 
men, were approaching from Temesvar. The only two roads of 
escape into Transylvania, and thus into Turkey, were in the hands 
of the Russians ; the one through Dewa to Hermannstadt, occupied 
by Liider, with 20,000 men, and the other through Klausenburg. 
by Grothenhelm, with 15,000. 

Again on the South, the Ban, with a large, though not very for- 
midable army, was hastening towards the scene of contest. The 
whole of these allied forces numbered nearly 200,000 men. 

Against them, since the late disasters, the Hungarians could 
oppose only Gorgey's corps of 24,000 ; Vecsey's of 7,000, near 



398 FINAL DIFFICULTIES. 

Lugos ; Kmety's of 2,500 ; Lazar's of 5,000, and Bern's of 8,000— 
in all only 50,000 men, scattered abroad in various districts, and 
dispirited by defeat * 

There may have been other corps, but these were the only avail- 
able, — from the army of 130,000 men which they had a few 
months before. Of the fortresses, only four were in the hands of 
the Hungarians ; Arad, with a weakened garrison ; Munkacz with 
a garrison of 450 men; Peterwardein with 8,000, and Komorn 
with 20,000. These were widely separated from one another, and 
Komorn lay on the very opposite side of Hungary. In modern 
warfare, too, fortresses are of very little account, when the enemy 
has possession of the heart of the country. Napoleon occupied all 
Prussia, with Magdebui-g still in his rear. 

With dissensions in the Ministry ; with armies devotedly attached 
to their General ; deprived himself of all the machinery of Govern- 
ment — the Bank-presses and money, and even the means of print- 
ing his own proclamations : seeing a falling Cause around him, what 
more rational course could there be for a civil Governor, than to give 
up everything then to the military Leader. It was too late for 
Kossuth to do anything. Gorgey could possibly make terms with 
the conquerors. It seems to me, not unheroic or unmanly, that in 
such an emergency, he trusted all to Gorgey, with the desperate 
hope he might yet save the remains of their armies.f 

As I consider this administration of Kossuth, I cannot doubt that 
it will, with posterity, place him in the highest rank as a Statesman. 

Such a talent for organization and finance, has not been exhibited 
in these modern times, unless perhaps by Hamilton. 

* Dr. Schiitte, 

t I see Boldenyi, a candid French historian, takes the same view of Kos- 
suth's motives in this act — Tm Hongrie, p. 237. Paris, 1851. 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 399 

It is evident from the whole history, that Kossuth had not the , 
unrelenting, tremendous force of a Cromwell or Napoleon ; or the 
iron will of a Jackson. But he has shown qualities, which in the 
view of an enlightened age, will peculiarly fit him to be the Gover- 
nor of a civiUzed and Christian people. 

He has shown that a man could be a raihtary Dictator, without 
staining his hands, either in the blood of his rivals or of his fiiends. 
In the midst of Turmoil and War, he has presented an administra- 
tion of mildness, mercy, and calm judgment. He has proved that 
he could obey, where the People decided he should not lead ; and 
that he was wiUing to give up everything of personal rank, if thereby 
he might aid his country. And finally more than any statesman 
of history, he has manifested throughout an unshaken Trust in the 
feelings and instincts of the masses, confiding in them and legislat- 
ing for them. 

He is not, it is true, the Ideal Leader of past history, the pitiless, 
iron-willed man. But is he not the " Governor," whom a higher 
civilization shall honor — ^the governor for a Democratic and Chris- 
tian State. 



- CHAPTEE XLHI. 

The Deliverance of Hungary. 

It may be interesting at this time, wlien so mucli new attention 
is drawn to Hungarian matters, to give my impressions of a subjeat 
likely soon to become practical to the public, the chances of Hun- 
gary in another struggle. As I am probably the first foreign 
traveller who has mingled much with the people since the Revolu- 
tion, it is hoped the opinions and facts presented here, may be of 
value. 

The first thing to be considered in weighing carefully the chances 
of another Revolution, is — will the whole nation he united ? 

The jealousies of Croat towards Magyar, the antipathy of Slavo- 
nian for Hungarian, and of Wallach to all, in the last war, greatly 
checked and hampered all the operations of the defending army. 
There were forces enough wasted in the guerilla warfare with the 
Croats and Raizen, who, in a most singular manner, had been da- 
ceived and stimulated by the agents of Government, against the 
Hungarian Ministry, to have held the whole army of the Russians 
at bay. There was no great danger, to be sure, from these enemies ; 
yet the mere fear of them kept lai-ge bodies of soldiers always posted 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 401 

in the southern part of Hungary ; and these petty conflicts exhausted 
the resources of the richest district of the country. Then again in 
Siebenbiirgen — the only part of Hungary where there was any 
peasant-war — the Wallach peasants had been extremely excited by 
the priests and officere of Government against their old Pi-otestant 
landlords. Although Bern's campaign in this province was perhaps 
the most glorious in the war, it would have been more completely 
successful if the peasants had been with him. They hung upon 
his march, and in various ways hampered his' more important move- 
ments. Again, if the various " Nationalities" had been more Com- 
pletely in harmony, and if the peasants had been everywhere favor- 
able to the cause, a much better plan of the campaign might have 
been formed. The Hungarians could have made their base the 
mountains of Siebenbiirgen, and the mai-shy, difficult country near 
the Lower Danube, where they could have fought every step of 
ground, as the Spaniards did, through their mountains against 
Napoleon. A few months' delay, too, would have saved them, as 
no foreign army could at all endure the Theiss fevers, as they call 
them, which come on usually in September and October, and are a 
terrible scourge on the low-lands to strangers. As it was, with foes 
on every side, they were forced to make their centre and base the 
open Hungarian plain, which it was not easy to defend against supe- 
rior numbers. 

Beside these elements of disunion, there was the coldness of the 
" Old Conservative Party" and of the " Magnates," to cramp the full 
efforts of the Nation. 

Would all these diverse parties and races join in another effort 
for Independence ? 

T do not hesitate to say, after careful observation and intercourse 
with every class of society, that a well-supported movement would 



402 PEOPLE UNITED 

cany with it every class, and race, and party upon the Hungarian 
soil. 

I have already spoken of the utter and almost unparalelled 
stupidity of the administration of the Austrians since the Revolution, 
over the i-aces of Hungary. All that prudent statesmen would have 
gained, they have lost. The affections of the peasants — the confi- 
dence of the moneyed men — the loyalty of the once faithful 
" l^ationalities" — the attachment of the " Conservatives" — all they 
have let go, as though their Empire was founded on the most 
immovable basis. They have appeared to revel in the pride of their 
victory. It seemed as if they were determined to contrive every 
measure so as most to gall and offend the quick National pride. 
No conciliatory measures ; not a show of forbearance or generosity, 
such as would have wiped away, with minds like the Hungarians, 
centuries of wrong — all cold, harsh, humiliating oppression. They 
had forgotten that the Grand Austrian Empire rests on a foundation 
of sand, and they have trodden the conquered under them, as 
though Affection and Loyalty, and the hke, had no relation to a 
power such as theirs. Who can doubt that all these classes would 
combine, heart and hand, with the Hungarians, in any rational 
attempt for Freedom, In fact, I heard the most constant hints of 
this everywhere. Every rank and nationality felt its degradation, 
I was assured, and I have had it confirmed by correspondence in 
Government journals, that the various tribes were on the very verge 
of revolt. The "Wallachs had found that the emissaries of Govern- 
ment had cheated them in every way, and both they and th« 
Croats were becoming more and more united with the Magyars in 
their common misfortunes. 

I have already mentioned the fact of the Census, as showing this 
change of sentiments among the Wallachs. This is still fai'ther con- 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 403 

finned by the indignant remaiks of Chonaivetz — the latest statis- 
tician on the part of the Government — against " the fickleness of 
the Wallachs in their political sympathies."* 

For myself, I have not the remotest doubt, nor do I believe, has 
any reflecting man in Hungary, that at any revolt, promising a fair 
success, every class and nationality of the land, would rise, as one 
man. 

Though travelling through the country for other objects, I could 
not but notice one fact, which was exceedingly cheering, as affecting 
the chances of a future struggle — and this was — the large member 
of younff, able-bodied men in the villages. I remember, in journey- 
ing through Holstein, at the time of the war, I was most painfully 
struck with the want of young men in the tovms and villages. I 
had expected to find a similar appearance in Hungary. But it was 
not at all the case. The villages which I visited, had sent out the 
largest and most valiant corps of the Hungarian army. Yet I was 
surprised, often, at the crowded aspect of them — at the numbers of 
vigorous, fine-looking men, everywhere. Nor does the interior of 
the countiy at all show the desolating effects of the war, as the 
border's do. Those desolate, wasted scenes, which one sees in the 
villages along the Upper Danube, or in the mountains of Sieben- 
biirgen, do not appear at all on the Great Plain, within the Theiss, 
where are the heart and sinew of the Hungarian race. 

I often inquired of my friends about this unexpected appearance 
of the land. They rephed, and I have no doubt correctly, that the 
country is exceedingly populous, and from the healthy habits of the 
people, more than usually filled 'with able-bodied men ; and that it 
has happened here, as very often in war, that the bravest soldiers 
have escaped the best. This was confirmed to me, afterward, by 
* Handbiich zur Kenntniss Ungarns. — P. 143. 



404 ACQUAINTANCES. 

my experience in a village of tlie Haiducks. These peasants had 
equijjped several cor/;5 at their own expense, and their soldiers were 
notoriously the most fearless — yes, the most venturously brave — in 
the whole Hungarian army ; but, as they informed me, scarcely any 
of the families of the village had especially suffered from the two 
years' war. 

However it may be explained,-! have no doubt of the fact, often 
asserted to me by the Hungarians, that, employing their old efficient 
military organization, an army of 300,000 vigorous men could be 
raised in a few days, from the whole people, to fight for Hungary. 

Then it should be further remembered, that 150,000 Honveds — 
tried Hungarian soldiers— are distributed through the Austrian 
ranks, the bravest soldiers of the " Imperial Ai-my." Any one who 
knows anything of the Hungarian character, would not hesitate a 
moment in saying that in anothei' general up-rising for Hungarian 
independence, with Kossuth's name heading it, every man of these 
would desert to the ranks of his countrymen. The last thing, after 
years of exile and suffering, which the Hungarian will forget^the 
last feeling which will thriU his heart, however new and happy are 
his circumstances, will be his love for his dear, sorrowful, broken 
Hungary. 

My hope for the Future of the Nation, rests much in this most 
wonderful attachment of almost every man for his country. 

Besides the general vigorous appearance of the population, T was 
much impressed with the sjnrit everj^where shown. 

I had thought I should see among the people a state of feeling like 
what I had "observed in many parts of Germany — a depression — a 
hopelessness — a cowardly resignation, as if Injustice and Force had 
triumphed, and there was no hope ever again of their defeat. 

But there was httle of this; men were sad, it is true; they 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 405 

mourned for what no future victory could ever restore to them ; they 
felt the bitterness of their disgrace and degradation — but there was 
no Despair. " God could not let such a fearful wrong be consum- 
mated !" they often said ; and it was evident they were certain within 
themselves, that all future years of grinding oi^pression could not 
destroy their " longing unspeakable" for Freedom. No man looked 
forward to peaceful years. There was the dark anticipation with all, 
that these next few years would witness a most fearful struggle in 
Hungary. Biit, I think, there was, with most, the stern and manly 
determination to meet it ; to die in it, if necessary ; but never, while 
there was a shadow of hope, to give up one inch to the advance of 
Tyranny. 

Let no one expect anything for Hungary from conspiracies. The 
character of the people is too open and honorable for such move- 
ments. They never could keep a secret in the most dangerous 
political times of their history, and the Austrians would outwit them 
at once in any secret intrigues. The danger which Austria has to 
feai', is from one of these sudden outbursts of passion, which no 
government can anticipate or control. They will goad on the gal- 
lant nation until it turns upon them, almost in the fury of madness.. 

The world has witnessed terrible contests for lust, or revenge, or 
freedom, but they will be as nothing to that struggle, when at length 
Hungary rises to be free. A Nation of strong men, embittered and 
maddened by years of insult, and oppression, and degradation, will 
be fighting in despair. There will be no hope and no escape — mercy 
will not be thought of. I know the people, and I am sure that 
there is hardly a man on the Hungarian plain, from the clergyman 
of the village to the lowest peasant of the prairie, who will not 
gi-asp scythe or sword for this last contest. It will be' the final 
effort — ^the last struggle of a Nation for life. 



406 OBSTACLES. 

In the event of any such outbreak, nothing is to be feared from 
the Austrian soldiers, within the country. They are few in number 
compared with the multitudes around them, and except in Gros 
"Wardein, and that neighborhood, quite as disaffected often, as the 
people themselves. 

The two great difficulties vrill be, first, in the toant of arms, and 
secondly, in the interference of the Russians. K it were not for 
these two dangers, there could hardly be a doubt of the result. If 
Hungary could receive foi'eign assistance, either from America or 
England, there would be little trouble from the want of arms. A 
small squadron landing at Fiume could supply the whole people 
with arras in an incredibly short space of time, and with a year or 
two of opportunity, they would manufacture all which would be 
hereafter required, as was the case in 1848 and 1849. 

For the intervention of Russia, nothing would be of use except 
the direct interference of England and America. And even that 
might be found of no avail. But careful men are of opinion that 
if Austria could be threatened on any other side, as for instance, by 
Democratic insurrections in Italy, Hungary could defend herself, 
even now, against them both. With the Nation united as it is now, 
without treachery in her councils, and under the tremendous energy 
of despair, what might not be accomplished ? 

In view of these various considerations, and from a knowledge 
of the present condition of the people, I say with the utmost confi- 
dence, there is every reason to hope for Hungary's deliverance. 

And to you, Hungarian Exiles, in whatever part of the world 
these words may reach you, I say, do not despair of your country ! 
OwY common experience under a crushing oppression and the kind- 
ness which I have received at the hands of your countrymen, em- 
bolden me to speak fi-eely to you. Your brethren at home, in this 



HUNGARY IN 1851. 407 

their hour of darkness and bitterness, warn you, through me, in 
youi' new cares and your strange occupations not to forget your 
Fatherland. 

" Tell them^'' they have often said to me, " that we never forget 
them ; that we wait for them here /" 

Hungarians ! your cause has only gained ground in its defeat. 
Your manly bearing in your misfortunes has won the regard of men 
who knew nothing of your wrongs. The researches of eveiy can- 
did observer have only convinced the world that you underetood 
and struggled for the highest rights of freemen. The words of 
your Leader and Statesman are giving lessons in political justice, and 
inspiring the most exalted sentiments of liberty to the freest nations 
of the earth. 

Your cause has never stood better. Anstria is hopelessly bank- 
rupt. The whole empire, Bohemia, Austrian Italy, yes, Vienna 
itself trembles with the surges of revolution below. Your People 
are united, as they never have been in your past history — peasant 
and noble, Slavonian and Magyar. All is ready for the great, final 
blow. It is your duty to be in readiness. -"Another year may see 
the grand struggle open on the plains of the Theiss and the Dan- 
ube. Everything promises success from every side. But more, than 
from aU these sources — I say it without irreverence or cant — are 
you and every lover of Freedom to take comfort from the truth, 
that above these wrongs and oppressions, there is a God, loving 
justice. 

Let us not despau*, under Him, of Himgary's deUverance. 



APPENDIX. 



I SUBJOIN an abstract of a Petition from the Hungarian Protestant Clergy- 
men to the Emperor, which was given me in manuscript. 
"Most Gracious Emperor: 

"When the heart is full, Ihe mouth pours over. Our spirit is full of 
anxiety, our breast is full, of woe, our heart of bitterness, and therefore our 
mouth can utter only painful complaints. Still we pour forth our complaints 
before your Majesty with calmness, for we believe it is God who has placed 
your Majesty at the head of affairs, as there ' is no authority except from 
God ;' we pour them forth with confidence, believing that at our cry of dis- 
tress ?,n impulse of compassion will arouse itself in your Majesty's youth- 
ful, feeling breast, and that your heart will be inclined to fatherly sentiments 
toward the suffering. * * * 

'■ We ask not for material goods for ourselves. As members of the king- 
dom of Christ, which is not of this world, and as its called leaders, and its 
entrusted workmen, we long after spiritual good — after spiritual freedom — 
after a free Confession of Faith, in whose enjoyment we feel ourselves now 
much limited — yes, even therefrom excluded by worldly power." 

The Petition proceeds then to mention the occasion of this complaint in 
the edict of Baron Haynau — points to the presumption of it, as if the Church 
■ 18 



410 APPENDIX. 

itself, alter an experience of three hundred years, did not know how to re- 
lieve itself in its " mournful condition" — then answers the hint of the Baron 
that the Church has been involved in these revolutionary movements. It 
shows, first from the reports of the Church-councils, then from the resolu- 
tions which were published, and from the g;eneral opinion through the land, 
that those Councils had never interfered in any way whatever in political 
matters. The petitioners then urge that individuuls, even the highest officers 
of the Catholic Church, have been equally implicated, and yet that no pre- 
text is thereby made of attacking the whole body. 

" But," they further continue, " when we consider the nature of the 
Church Constitution established in February, we must be afflicted with 
fears. For the Reformation was especially brought about by this at first, 
that the faithful wished to be free from the oppressions of the hierarchy. 
Since then has the Evangelical Church ever carefully watched that the con- 
nection between the so-called worldly and spiritual should be carefully 
maintained, and that they should mutually in the administration, hold the 
balance to one another." They proceed then to show, hov/ the edict com- 
pletely does away with this balancing of influences, and leaves all in the 
hands of the clergy. " And again," they urge, " another ground of the Re- 
formation was the endeavor to modity the system of the prelacy, and to 
restrain the pov.-er of the bishops. But, on the contrary, the Constitution of 
February leaves it in the power of the Superintendents to choose reliable 
men who would work, not as the deputies of the congregations, but as inter- 
preters of the principles and executors of the will of the Superintendents. 
By which it would result, that on the fragments of our Prosbyterial Consti- 
tution, there would be erected, according to the principles and mode of the 
Roman Catholic Church, the throne of prelatical power P 

" One article of our Church- Constitution established by the laws of the 
land, declares that ' the teachers of the parishes shall, according to the laws 
of the Church, be summoned and chosen by the parish, or by persons whom 
the parish shall appoint for this purpose.' In contradiction to this, the de- 
cree of February entrusts the Seniors of the parishes with the filling of the 
unoccupied places, even as in the Roman Catholic Chmch the nomination of 
the clergy is wont to come from above." 

They urge farther, that the extreme difficulties thrown around the holding 



APPENDIX. 411 

of their Councils, the limitations imposed on all their meetings, and the 
censorship to which they are exposed would exceedingly abridge, yes", even 
destroy the practical benevolence which they had been able previously to 
promote by their mutual assistance. All that they had been able to do pre- 
viously for " the enlivening of the religious feeling, for the furthering of good 
morals, for the cherishing the schools and learning, for the support of healthy 
oljects of civil administration, for the soothing the trouble of the disappointed, 
would be almost entirely prevented by these regulations." 

Again they complain, that their schools are threatened with ruin, as Govern- 
ment without their influence, without order or economy, is now forming 
them. They urge that th^-y have never asked for the assistance of Govern- 
ment, and always refused it, when offered — and that now, when the people 
and country are beggared by the war, to force expensive arrangements upon 
them, which they must accept, or deliver up their schools, is exceedingly 
unjust. "The independent existence of our schools," they add, "is a ques- 
tion of life and death, for our Confession. The schools are the main supjyorts 
and the light of Protest antisni, and j'et here are they all threatened with sud- 
den ruin." 

They urge further, the repeated guarantees which the Protestant church 
has received, through past times, and even those lately made, in the Consti- 
tution of Austria, in 1848— guarantees of the freedom and independence of 
their Constitution, not lawfully to be broken down. 

" And," they continue, ''add to this, that we can see no sufficient reason, 
why all this must so happen, because of a 'state of siege;' for faith and the 
soul cannot be in subjection to the armed power. The principles of faith, 
and the inner conviction can neither be commanded by force, nor be forbid- 
den, nor be abolished. 

" Christ and his kingdom cannot be placed in a stale of siege. At this point, 
we repeat, with full assent, the golden words of Maxamilian II. the ancestor 
of your majesty. ' To rule over the conscience, -means to take the Kingdom of 
Heaven, by violence!' * * * 

"We find no consolation in the assurance that this is only provisionally 
established, for the eternal principles of the gospels, cannot, even for a time, 
be made a dead letter." * * * 

They then present their requests, formally to the Emperor. " First, we 



412 APPENDIX. 

entreat that your majesty would recall the edict of February — for we say^ 
with conscientious frankness, — in as much as flattery and deception are not 
consistent with the respect due to your majesty, nor suitable to our charac- 
ter — that we consider this decree as an axe laid at the root of Protestantism — as 
an ordinance wounding our principles of faith and doing violence to our con- 
science — and that so long as it is continued in operation we must tremble 
lest the life's vigor of our Church be dried up, and it fall into powerlessiiess 
— and our whole Church life return back to the times before the Refor- 
mation." 

They ask, secondly for the restoration of their Synods and assemblies, and 
for the restoration of that Presbyterian form, which they believe necessary 
for the life of the Church, and derived directly from the apostolical institu- 
tions — and they add, that they attach to them the sam.e importance as "' the 
celebrated Reformer John Knox, who has said, 'i/ is the same thing, whether 
you take from t(S the freedom of our assemblies, or the Gospel itself J''' " 

"The members of our body," they farther say, "hold on to the right of 
self-government, as a condilion of life itself! 

They entreat still farther, that the same privileges be granted them as to 
the Catholic church — observing, that this church has been put under no 
" martial law" in Hungary, but, through its deputies, the Bishops, can hold 
councils, pass ordinances, and even carry out measures for the injury of the 
Protestant body. 

They beg, too, that their schools, so long sustained, and at such immense 
sacrifices, may not be at once thus taken from them, or degraded to mere 
private institutions, by which their young men will be compelled to abandon 
all public life, or to attend the Catholic institutions of learning. They 
allude to the universal poverty, now, of both corporations and individuals 
through the land, and entreat the government not to impose such severe 
conditions upon them, — conditions which in their present distress, involve 
the utter ruin of the Protestant schools. Finally, they ask if any great 
changes are to be made in the Church, that the men of the government and 
the deputies of the Church might communicate with one another. "For 
those whom one in the name of the Church places over its administration, 
v.-ithout observing that weighty principle of the Evangelical Church — that 
cnly he can work for the Church and in its name, who is empowered and entrusted 



appf:ndtx. 



413 



thereto by the Church— these will find that they can not lahor advantageonsly 
to the Church, nor with the necessary impression- For all their orders will 
only be forced upon the people, and will be executed with ill-will, without 
joyfulness or life — and more than this, will bear within them the seeds of 
powerlessness and incapability of life." * * 

'■ To his most gracious Majesty, from the Assembly for consultation of 
obedient subjects, summoned by the Superintendents of the Helvetic Con- 
fession on the Danube " 

Pesth, May 5th, 1851. 



B. 



Statistics of Poindation in Hungary. 
I. Dr. Schutte's [Jngaen — 1850. 



Magyars, 

Slovacks, (about,) 

Croats, " 

Ruthenen, 

Raizen and Schokazen, 

Wallachs, 

Germans, 

Smaller tribes (about) , 



.5,278,6fir) 
2.000,000 
1,000,000 

600,000 
1,400,000 
2,908,876 
1,377,484 

400.000 



\ About 5,000,000 



The whole about 15,000 000 

As the latest statistics, these are not so minutely accurate, though correct 
in general. 



II. Fenyes— 1842. 



Magyars, 
Slovacks, 
Germans, 
Wallachs, 
Croats, 



4,812,759 
1,687,256 
1,273,677 
2,202,542 
S86.079 



414 



APPENDIX. 






Raizen, ...... 828,365 


Shokzen, 








429,868 


Winden, 








40,864 


Rutheneri; 








442,903 


Bulgarians, . 








12,000 


French, 








6,150 


Greeks and Zinzars, 








. 5,680 


Armenians, . 








3,798 


Montenegriner, 








2,830 


Clementiner, 








1,600 


Jews, 








244,035 


The whole 


12,880,406 



Fevyes is a Hungarian — and the most reliable statistician, who has ever 
written on Hu ngary — though his estimates are not the latest. 



III. Haeuntler — Austrian S 



Magyars, 

Slavonians, . 

Germans, 

Wallachs, ., 

Szeklers, 

Jews and smaller tribes. 

The whole 



CATISTICIAN- 



4,605,670 
4,905,760 
1,421,500 
2,317,349 
250,000 
372,000 

13,876,170 



IV. Chonawez — Another writer for the Austrian Government (Hand- 
buck liber Ungam — 1851) makes the whole population 12,990,158. How- 
ever, his statistics are manifestly copied from those of Fenyes, making a 
very slight allowance for the nine years intervening. 



Statistics of Different Sects — Fenyes — 1842. 



Roman Catholic, 
Greek Catholic, 



6,130,188 
1,322,344 



APPENDIX. 



415 



Protestants. 
Augsburg Confession, 1 
Helvetic Confession, y 
Unitarians, J 

Greeks not united, 
Jews, 

Statistics of Races, as divilied by Sects — {Dr 

Croats, Roman Catholics. 

Ruthenen, Greek Catholics. 

Wallachs, Greeks non-united (mostly. )»• 

Magyars, 5-12 Catholic. 

Slovacks, 5-8 '■' 

Germans, 4-5 " 



1,006,210 

1,846.844 

47,280 

2,283,505 

244,035 

SCHUTTE — 1850. 



Serbs, Raizen, &c. 2-3 Non-united Greek. 

Statistics in regard to the Jews, in Hungary. 



7- 1 2 Protestant. 

3-8 " 

1-5 " 

1-3 Roman Catholic. 



i.100 1 
1805 J 


)■ (S>chivartner.) 
130,000] 


1834 
1837 


. 246.0001 

I (Stellar ) 
. 254,000 J 


1842 


. 340,252 (Fenyes.) 


1848 


392,000 (Late statistics 



Showing an increase in sixty-five years, of more than Jive hundred per 
cent. — (Dr. Schutte.) 



c. 

Statistics of Trade. 

(Ungam, in seinen neusten Verbal tnissen — Pesth, 1851.) 

Exports from Hungary in 1831, to Austria, in value, 40,455,000 florins. 

About " $20,227,500 

In 1847, 53,470,800 fl. 

Or about " $26,735,400 



4:6 



APPENDIX. 



Imports from Austria in 184'" 


5 


. 






57,470,800 fl. 


Or about " 


$28,73.'i,400 


Exports to foreign countries in 1847, 


9,767,954 fl. 


Or 


$4,833,978 


Imports from " " ... 


16,771,950 fl. 


Or 


$8,385,975 


Exports from Hungary to Austri 


a, in value — 


(1847.) 


Wool, 




$8,376,880 


Hides, 










721,460 


Hemp, 










209,980 


Rags, . 










160,107 


Featiiers, 










160,075 


Wheat, 










2,801,934 


Oats, 










580,943 


Oxen, 










1,995,560 


Hogs, 










1,969,430 


Sheep, 










336,163 


Horses, 










•254,125 


' Useful Metals, 










1,601,074 


Tobacco, 










1,337,760 



Imports of Manufactures {in value) from Austria. 
Cotton Goods, .... $9,723,000 



Woollen '• 

Linen and hempen manufactures, 

Iron and steel wares, 

Yarn, 

Silk Goods, 

Leather, 



3,684,695 
2,004,253 
1,906,476 
1,707,333 
1,422,300 
511,207 



Sum, $21,442,771 

In these estimates, I have reckoned the Floiin roughly at fifty cents, 
though it is nominally forty-eight cents, and at present not worth more than 
forty cents. 







APPENDIX. 






Prodi 


iclions per annum— 


-.'It'crage. 


Wheat, 






' 23,270,000 Metze.* 


Rye, 








18,545,000 " 


Barley, 








21,880,000 "■ 


Oats, 








28,984,000 " 


Indian Corn, 








10,550,000 " 


Tobacco, 








560,000 cwt. 


Hay, 








50,000,000 " 


Straw, 








60,000,000 " 


Wool, 








340,000 " 


Silk Cocoons, 






4,712 " 


Wine, 






26,500,000 Eimer. 


An Eimer holdins 


about 


twelve 


gallons. 





417 



Railroads. 
Several lines — all in the possession of government. From Marchegg along 
the Danube to Pesth and Szolnok, 43| German miles, or roughly 215 English 
miles. Cost, $10,506,106. 



Institutions for Education in Hungary. 

1 University — (under govermental charge) — Pesth. 

3 Royal Academies — Pressburg, Gross Wardein, Kaschau. 

1 Royal Mountain Academy — Schemniz. 

1 Economical Institute — Altenburg. 

1 Industrial School, united with a Geometrical Institute — Pesth. 

The Lyceums and 68 Gymnasia are entirely new formed. 

In the State Gymnasium, at Pressburg, the language enforced is German, 
and thus in general through the land, except where the majority of the 
Bcholars only know Hungarian. 

* The Metz^ is about 1|- bushels, or 1,7406. 



418 



APPENDIX. 



10 Gymnasia are clostd. 

1 Gymnasium for Greek Catholics at Belenrji's. 

5 Normal Schools (for teachers) of Catholics, Peslli^ Raab, G. Wardein, &c. 

1 Of the United Greeks — Jlrad. 

3 Lutheran Prot. Colleges — Prcssburgk^ Ocdenbiirg, Kismark. 

4 '■ Gymnasia — Epcries, Modern, &c. 

11 " small Gymnasia — Sz. M.'irton. Raab, &c. 

4 Reformed Prot. Colleges — Dibreczin, Kecskemet, Pupa, and Sdvospatak. 
11 " Gymnasia — Szigeth, Komorn, &c. 

72 Seminaries for Greek and Roman Catholic Priests. 
14 Educational houses " " " " 

10 Nunneries. 

2 Seminaries for girls. 
18 Music Schools. 

20 Drawing Schools. 

2 Deaf and Dumb Institutions — Wenzen, Pressburg. 

2 Institutions for the Blind — Pressburg, Pesth. 
The income from the Roman Catholic fund in Hungary, in 1845, was 
$265,912. 



Gold, 

Silver, . 
Copper, . 
Iron Ore, 
Cast-iron, 
Lead, 
Cobalt, . 
Antimony, 
Rock Salt, 
Salt from Sprin 
Alum, 
Coal, 



Minerals and Precious Metals of Hungary 
Annual amount obtained. 

2,231 marks 
68,890 " 
34,452 cwt.. 



269,997 
35,312 
4,178 
789 
5,350 
713,850 
gs, 112,900 
11,-534 
^282A0 



value $1,037,173 per annian. 

" $689,040 « 

$1,250,000 " 



0S i'^^ 



APPENDIX. 419 

Preciol's Stokks. 

The most valuable, the Opal — besides the Ruby, Topaz, Amethyst, Jasper, 
Agate. &e. 

Clays. — Potter's clay ; porcelain earth ; slate and mica-slate. 

Calcareous formations — Lime-stones — Marljle (in great varieties, the 
Krassoer vi'hite marble, equal to the Carrara, says Chonawez.) Chalk, Gyp- 
sum and Alabaster. 

Besides Asbestus, Fuller's earth and Sulphur are found in abundance. 
(Chonawez, 1851.) 



Domestic Anim.^ls. 



Horses, 

Oxen, 

Cows, 

Sheep, 

Hosrs, 



1,000,000 
1,400,000 

2,860,000 

17,000,000 

4,000.000 



Manufactories. 

Of these there are reckoned to be 500 in Hungary — 

Of pottery, earthenwaie and porcelain, at JJermrf, Glassware — Hrinyoua, 
Old and New Antonsdorf^ &c. 

Iionware — Pohorella. Diosgyor, &c. 

Paper — Hci-rnanez, &c. 

Colors — Preasburg. 

Cloth — Gacs, Papa, &c. 

Sugar— (Reliiiing) Pestlu Prcssburg,' and Oedeitburg^ and 9 Beet-sugar 
manufactories. 

Champagne, Tallow, Candles, Soap, Soda, Potash, Saltpetre, Machine-fac- 
tories, at Old Ofen, Pcsth. Jrunkdcs, &c. 



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